Digimon: Chaotic Evolutions Redone
by Katreal
Summary: 02x04 Posing as a Digidestined pair, and barred from spirit evolution save in the most dire of circumstances, Kouji and Kouichi struggle to aid the Chosen Children in discovering the secret of evolution, all while trying to unravel the truth of the connection between their Spirits, and themselves.
1. Chapter 1 - The Summons

**Title: **Digimon: Chaotic Evolutions

**Timeline: **Frontier-AU after Lucemon's defeat.

02- AU after the Holy Stones Arc. No Imperialdramon yet.

**Disclaimer:** Digimon is not mine in any way shape or form. I did however, come up with the designs for Akemon and Anyamon.

**Chapter 1: The Summons**

A queer wind blew through the sleepy darkness of the early morning. It was quiet here, far from the ever active central districts of the city. Here high rises gave way to smaller individual homes, packed together along narrow streets. Green snuck in, squeezing into window boxes, small personal vegetable gardens, and decorative shrubs. It was…peaceful. While it was not a place of great wealth, everything was clean, and well maintained. Regularly placed streetlights shone softly in the night, driving back the darkness that the moon's light didn't touch.

The pale moon floated lazily in the sky. Its image was pockmarked with the occasional cloud fleeting across its full shining face. It gave its light willingly, brightening the night to give it an almost ethereal quality to the landscape.

The wind stilled, the air charged with…something. Six children in this city might have been able to recognize it for what it was, and they wouldn't have been able to explain it to any who asked. It just…was.

The charge seemed centered on a modest, two story house. The shining light from the moon found an upper story window before pooling on the floor. The window was open, half drawn blinds still fidgeting in a breeze that was no longer there.

The light seemed to coalesce, drawing in on itself, becoming concentrated. The charge took the form of a humanoid figure, seen only out of the corner one's eye. Anyone who saw it would have never thought it more than a trick of the light.

"_It is time…"_

Minamoto Kouji tossed and turned in his sleep; a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face only to be absorbed by the pillow. His fists continued to clench the blanket as he dreamed. He dreamed of trains. Of battle. Of a voice he'd once heard only through a queer little machine known as a D-scanner.

His breathing was labored, chest heaving with the effort to pull the air into his lungs. In his unconscious state he was unaware of everything. Unaware of the presence standing over him now, an unseen hand reaching down to gently brush sweat slicked hair from his face. Unaware of the voiceless words that seemed to reverberate within the room, even though there was no one awake to hear it.

"_Light..."_

Kouji's eyes flew open, his usually bright blue eyes dull and vacant. He was still caught in a dream, even as his visitor gently pressed something into his hand. Harsh breathing echoed, with each breath his fingers twitched and stirred, blue-brown bandana tightly to his chest. He shouldn't have been able to reach it. He left it on his bedside stand every evening. A strange cross-like symbol glowed softly from between the folds, a cellphone.

"_Darkness…"_

Across the city, another stirred in response. This visitor did not arrive on a road of moonlight, the night claimed this one fully. This neighborhood only barely resembled the one on the other side of the city. It was cramped, worn and torn looking. One out of every street light stood dim and dead, sentinels who had long since failed on their watch. A battle for life and death was going on at this very moment. A street lamp made a valiant attempt at life, flickering and sputtering as it strove to do its duty. Then, it died. A room in the nearby apartment complex was plunged into complete darkness.

The visitor didn't so much arrive as it did appear, melting out of the shadows. It didn't have a form really, darkness in darkness, a presence that filled the room. It affected the room's occupant, even if it left no impression on the real world. It was on another plane entirely, but there was one who was just as much connected to it as it was.

Kimura Kouichi jerked out of a nightmare. A nightmare of being trapped. Of a close friend twisted and bent, broken into a horrific, ruthless servant to one out to destroy the world. He wasn't fully awake, lost to the darkness, but a weight settled into his hand, and it comforted him. It was the feel of confidence. It was the weight of black and gold armor, of his trusty staff in his hands. It was a support, the unwavering determination to do what was right, a balm to his torn soul.

Kouichi did not own a cell-phone, and he wouldn't have been able to explain how he had acquired the one in his hands, had he been awake. His mother was able to just get by, working for their home in the crowded apartment complex in this shabby neighborhood. He hadn't the heart to tell her when his last phone had breathed its last just the year before.

The stylized cross symbol cast an eerie purple glow, one which faded into the surrounding darkness, rather than illuminate it. It strengthened the presence in the room as it stood guard.

"_Warriors…you are SUMMONED!"_

All around the city the lights flickered, computers went berserk due to the sudden, brief, yet intense, influx of data that surged through the city's network. It just so happened, that in that one, very tiny instant, no one was outside. The surge of data briefly knocked out any camera, or instrument which would pick up the two faint streaks of light, one light blue and the other a dark purple, as they shot up from two points on opposite ends of the city, only to disappear into the night sky.

Four other children jerked awake, scattered throughout the city. Each instinctively reached for their phones, head ringing with a command they didn't understand.

Come the next morning they would call each other, and when two of their number never answered, they all knew why. Takuya would grumble, jealous that he hadn't been invited along. Tomoki would join in, attempting to cheer up his brother figure, even as he inwardly sulked. Junpei would speculate on what was going on, and why only two were summoned. Izumi would worry, and hope everything would turn out alright.

x-x-x

The three celestial digimon were gathered in the forest terminal, the ornate crystal chamber was a large contrast with their moods. The faces of each were grave, the silence oppressive. A silver winged angel digimon, HolyAngemon, had his purple visored head angled toward one of the castle windows, his unseen gaze roaming far into the digital world's night sky. Two streaks of light were fading into the distance, becoming nothing more than stars as he watched. He was the first to break the silence. "It is done."

A gloved hand rested comfortingly on his shoulder as a six-winged female angel, Angewomon, came to his side. She followed his gaze, her ungloved hand clenched tightly in her pink shawl. She gave him silent comfort, unsure of what to say, other than, "We needed a pair. None of the others would work."

"Light and Darkness…they have already done so much for us." whispered the Ultimate form of Cherubimon; Antiramon. The long-armed rabbit-like digimon stood away from the other two, preferring to be alone rather than in company. He was half shrouded in shadows, far from the shining pair of angels and the open window.

HolyAngemon nodded in response, his wings drooping. He took Angewoman's hand in his, "It cannot be helped. They ARE the protectors of our world."

"Was this the only way though?" Angewomon wondered, her breath quiet, subdued. She squeezed his hand in acknowledgement before pulling away. She turned instead toward Antiramon, it was from the rabbit digimon that the plan had come.

"Yes…" Whispered Antiramon, "We cannot pass through. We cannot help. Only the Warriors may now."

Angewomon sighed, "I wish we could have at least told them what is needed…"

HolyAngemon placed a comforting hand on Angewomon's shoulder, returning to her the comfort she had offered him, "As do I…but you heard Qinglongmon. Things are getting worse, and there was no time to explain. You left a recording, which is the most we can do."

Angewomon's wings shuffled as she turned away, her holy radiance muted, "I know…I know…I just wish…"

Antiramon ignored them as his fellow Celestial digimon took their leave, only moving when the first rays of light began to creep through the now empty window. He moved slowly, almost painfully to it, watching as the rising sun broke over the trees, blotting out the stars. So many stars. So many worlds. So many problems. There was nothing more to be said other than, "Good luck."

x-x-x

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, it was Sunday. Minamoto Satomi was humming as she collected the laundry from various rooms in the house. She'd saved Kouji's room for last, in order to give the boy the longest possible time to rest. She knew he hadn't been sleeping well for the past while, and he'd seemed so…_tired_. There was nothing to be done for it now, she paused in front of her step-son's room and knocked once on the door, "Kouji! Can I come in?"

There was no answer.

Satomi smiled fondly. He was probably still in bed. She knocked again, increasing the volume of her calls. Still no answer.

She listened for any sign of movement, blankets rustling, or the quiet groans of a teenager being forced to wakefulness when he did not want to. Still nothing. She frowned; worry starting to creep into her thoughts, Kouji hadn't ignored her for a few years now. Not since that summer, when he'd disappeared for a few hours. She knew that she would never replace Kimura Tomoko, and she accepted that. But she loved him. She smiled fondly, remembering when Kouji had shown up for dinner one day, holding a bouquet of flowers and an apology, as if he had never left. He had never spoken of what had caused his change of heart, and Satomi didn't pressure him. She suspected it was meeting his twin—for shortly after his return she'd met shy Kimura Kouichi. Whatever happened had, and still did, mean a great deal to the thirteen year old, and Satomi knew the value such experiences held for those who live through them.

The dark-haired woman placed her free hand on the doorknob. With what seemed like agonizing slowness she pushed opened the door. She surveyed the contents of the room intently, her expression falling as she confirmed that her stepson was nowhere to be found. The room was empty. Satomi's gaze swept the room, noting everything in the room. Kouji's bedroom was tidy and neat, not one article of clothing lay on the dark royal blue carpet. The oak desk in the corner was also clear, all the school books stacked orderly, the homework that was due Monday was laid carefully out to ensure that it wouldn't be forgotten. Leaning against the wall was Kouji's instrument, a guitar, although it seemed it hadn't been used in a while. Come to think of it, she hadn't heard him practicing lately; he'd probably been too tired.

The only thing out of place was the bed. The deep royal blue covers were crumpled and not made neatly like they usually were every morning. Memories began to well up, memories of the day Kouji left. Satomi shook her head, trying to banish the image of Kouji angrily stalking out of the house; his room had looked exactly like this then; even right down to the picture on his nightstand, once again it showed Kimura Tomoko's face.

Shei tried to push the memories to the back of her mind and consider the situation. Kouji didn't usually leave without telling anyone. Looking at all the outcomes she decided that Kouji _must've_ already left, maybe her husband knew? She left the door open and made her way to the stairs, calling out, "Kousei, did Kouji leave this morning?"

"No." Minamoto Kousei replied from downstairs, she could hear the paper shuffling as he turned the page, "His shoes are still here, and I haven't seen him all morning. Isn't he still sleeping?"

Satomi was about to reply when she heard the ring of the phone. She hurried into the master bedroom and to the phone that was there, "I've got it."

She balanced the basket on her hip and held the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"_Minamoto-san?" _A woman's voice asked nervously.

"Yes this is Minamoto Satomi."

"_This is Kimura Tomoko…Is Kouichi over there?"_

Satomi shook her head, though she knew the other woman would not be able to see it, "No. Why?"

Tomoko's voice cracked on the other end of the line, _"He's gone…He's been missing all morning. Last I remember seeing Kouichi was when he went to bed last night."_

Satomi's brow furrowed, "Did you check his friend's houses? Maybe he went to visit Takuya-kun…or the Orimoto girl."

She had been thinking of calling them herself. They were a tightly knit group, those ones.

"_I-…I…I still need to check. I thought maybe he went to visit Kouji, but he usually tells me when he goes out."_

"No. He hasn't been here." _'Kouji is out as well.' _She added silently. A hint of panic began to grow in Satomi's voice, though she tried to suppress it. Memories surfaced. Memories that took place three years ago, painful memories of when she had believed herself to have pushed Kouji to running away. It couldn't have been that. He'd smiled at her during dinner last night, thanked her. He'd suffered through a quick hug before bed. He wouldn't run away. She was being silly.

Tomoko was silent for a moment before, _"Oh, thank you…for your time…"_

The phone clicked, showing that Tomoko had hung up. Satomi held the phone in her hand loosely, ignoring the dial tone. Suddenly she dropped the laundry basket, causing a large crash that sent Kousei thudding up the stairs to see if she was alright. When her husband reached the room he was greeted with the sight of her collecting the laundry that had scattered along the floor. The phone lay forgotten where she'd let it drop into the basket—half covered by one of his shirts, "Honey? You alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine. Just fine." She smiled up at him, hiding her apprehension behind it. Surely Kouji would be at one of his friend's house.

x-x-x

It didn't take long before the edge of the sun peeked over the hill, golden waves of light frolicking across a sea of bright green grasses. The long strands moved like ripples in a pond as the morning breeze teased the blades in gentle gusts, brought on by the slow heating of the morning. The dark royal blue of night receded as even more of the sun rose higher. Near invisible clouds lit up with vibrant pinks, oranges, and yellows, making the entire scene look like a painted masterpiece. Not that there was anyone nearby to appreciate it.

There was only one thing marring the illusion of a grass ocean, it was a lone grey stone which stood tall and erect in the fields, peak jutting out like an island. The rising sun caused the formation to cast a dark shadow on its westward side, allowing its two charges to continue to sleep peacefully under its silent vigil.

A disturbance in the rhythm of flowing strands was the only indication that an intruder would soon stumble upon the stone. Whether it was a lucky chance, or perhaps design, that led the small digimon out into the open plains, he made his way at a leisurely pace toward the sentinel stone. Small golden scales, packed so close that it almost looked like hide, showed quite clearly against the backdrop of green as a three clawed hand parted the grass curtain between him and the stone.

Large reptilian green eyes blinked slowly as he surveyed the two sleeping figures. He scratched his dinosaur like head in confusion, "I'd better get Taichi…"

With a flick of his golden tail the dinosaur was gone, leaving the object of his confusion behind. Laying in the shade cast by the stone was two creatures. They were huddled together, black and white, but the larger one was a sleeker, like a feline, with a long, cat-like tail twitching to and fro with each breath. The smaller one had a wolf's build, with white fur that faded to metallic-like silver near the tips of the tail, ears, and paws. Tied around the pup's neck was a blue and brown bandana; tucked into the bandana was a blue and black object.

He sniffed in his sleep and rolled over, revealing a royal blue design on the canine's left shoulder. It looked similar to the symbol that could be found on Wolfmon's shoulder guards, the symbol for the warrior of light.

The larger creature stirred, huddling further away from the steadily advancing sunlight. This one had fur as dark as the coldest reaches of oblivion, the color so deep that one felt as if they were looking into a hole in space. Only one other color could be found here; dark violet streaks were on his cheeks, one below each eye. He matched the patterning of his partner with a shade of purple tipping his ears, tail, and paws. A second symbol was on this one's flank—the symbol of darkness.

The shadows shrank as the lighter pup stirred, cracking open one bright blue eye in irritation at whatever had decided to wake him up. He raised his head, blinking sleepily. The glazed over look vanished as he got a good look at his surroundings. He stared suspiciously at the field of grass and the sky over head, as if he hadn't expected to wake up outdoors.

The pup tried to stand up, tripped clumsily, and fell over. He landed snout first in the dirt, the fall dislodging the blue and black device that had been held loosely in place by the tied cloth. The D-Scanner landed face up near his head, and began to glow and beep methodically as the wolf righted himself once more. He eyed the device, both recognition and wariness warring within him as he regarded the symbol emblazoned on the screen. The second digimon made a groan of protest at the sound and rolled over, putting one large paw over his ears to block it out.

One last glance had the lighter one sighing and nudging the device with a paw, waiting for the contact to activate the pre-recorded message he knew would be there.

"Kouji."

He remained silent, taking a few moments to recognize the voice. The pitch and tone may be different, but Kouji could hear the resemblance to Ophanimon and Salamon; he guessed that it was one of Ophanimon's other forms. Ophanimon had been the only one of the Celestial Digimon who had communicated to them via the D-Scanners anyway.

"As you may have guessed, you are indeed in the Digital World. The spirits of the Warriors never left their Chosen, and the Warriors must always be available to protect our World. You were called, and the Spirits answered."

Kouji grimaced; he should have guessed their harebrained adventures a few years ago would have such consequences. He managed to arrange himself into a seated position, trying to remember how it felt to work a four legged body. It had been so long since he'd attained his beast spirit, and that had been in the middle of battle, with adrenalin and rage and fear and all the little trappings that came along with it. This form was most certainly NOT his beast evolution. It was too small for one thing. And furry.

"This section of the Digital World is far outside the bounds of our Guardianship. Normally, only very young digimon may travel between sectors of the Digital World. The Legendary Digimon do not have a younger form, but we managed to use the data to create the forms you now wear. Your rookie form, Kouji, is Akemon. Kouichi's is Anyamon. Treat it as another level of evolution; it works in a similar fashion."

"There is one thing that you _must _remember. Do _not_ reveal your spirit's capabilities. It would be better if only one of you remained human at any one time, both for disguise, and protection. Spirit evolution is unknown here, do not use it unnecessarily."

"A message has been sent to the Guardian of that sector, and should arrive soon to brief you further on the problem. I wish you luck."

Then the light on the D-Scanner died, ending the recording.

Kouji shot a glance to where his brother lay, huddled in the steadily moving shadows. He had heard the quiet snores die away during the recording, and wasn't surprised when his gaze was met with almost identical blue eyes. "How much did you hear?"

The Warrior of Darkness sighed, "Enough."

"What should we do?" Kouji quietly asked his older brother. One human. One Digimon. Kouichi realized it too. He didn't have to ask. He closed his eyes, laying his head on his paws "Just devolve. I'll…stay."

The Warrior of Light frowned, remembering their last adventure. The Digital World was dangerous. They wouldn't have been called if things were peaceful, "What if we meet danger? You don't like fighting."

"I'm also twice your size." Kouichi shifted, uncurling from the ball he'd been sleeping in. The shift revealed that his form was far more cat-like than Kouji had previously thought. It also revealed that Kouichi was completely correct, much to Kouji's disgruntled annoyance. He felt a low growl building in the back of his throat, but he cut it off. He couldn't deny that. Kouichi, with his larger size, and foreboding coloring, would definitely have an advantage when it came down to intimidation alone. Still. His brother disliked fighting. He wouldn't force that on him, especially since there was a way to keep him out of any fighting that would be done.

It didn't help that being thrust into such a role had his own fur bristling. He didn't think he would be able to handle watching his brother fight his battles for him. It was such an inefficient system.

"Younger brother." Kouji startled at both the firmness in his tone, and the blatant emphasis on younger, "For now, let me do this. We can always switch later." The edge dropped away, and his brother's soft voice came again, somewhat sheepishly. "To be honest, I like it like this. Anyamon is very…grounded. It reminds me of Lowemon."

Of course Kouichi would be more comfortable as a digimon. After returning he had confided to Kouji that he often missed Lowemon's solid presence. The confidence. The strength. He didn't feel so unsure, or worried.

Admiting defeat, Kouji reached back into his memories, looking for the feeling, the trigger that he hadn't had to use for so long. It wasn't exactly the same as releasing the spirits, returning them to the D-Scanner in order to regain his human form. This was more of a retreat, a withdrawal into himself, where Akemon curled up to rest, lying comfortably between the statues of Wolfmon and Garmmon, waiting, should he need them.

He opened his eyes to see the swirling cocoon of code dispersed, the tiny particles flying away from him like thousands of shooting stars. They traveled no more than a few feet before fading out of existence. Kouji was suddenly dizzy, the change in perspective was massive, and he didn't have one of the spirits to brace himself with. He put his hand to his head to ward it off, and realized he touched hair rather than cloth, even though the rest of his clothes were the same outfit he'd worn on the last adventure. Even though he'd grown out of them in the intervening years, he'd kept the bandana. After a few minutes to ordinate himself, his hands went straight for his neck, untying the blue and brown bandana, and replacing it in its customary spot on his head. He had to tuck away a few stray strands of hair that had escaped the confines of his pony-tail, and he hated it when they got in his eyes.

Kouichi—or Anyamon as he was now—crawled over to curl up beside him. Kouji put a hand on his brother's head, and his back to the stone, and waited.

x-x-x

The older Chosen liked the park. It was their official hang out space. They liked to get together and sit on the swings or the jungle gym, or just stand around and talk. Talk about life, the universe, and…well…everything really.

They were still a close bunch, even if Mimi had moved to America, and Joe was off to medical school. Even if Yamato was gone more than he was in town, touring and trying to make a name for himself and his band. They liked the park because it was quiet. They liked the park because of the smell of green and growing things. They liked it because the trees blocked off the sight of the road, the towering buildings, and they could just pretend they were in the digital world again.

There was only one here now, the most unlikely to be even conscious so early in the morning on the weekend—barring a soccer game. Yagami Taichi, the former holder of the Crest of Courage was sprawled out across the metal bars of the domed jungle gym, one hand over his face to block out the rays of sun that began to penetrate the trees as the day moved on. He didn't often come out here alone, but he wanted to think without his mother badgering him about work, or university, or 'by the way, how is Agumon doing?'

Oddly enough, the thing that was currently foremost in his mind was the little orange dinosaur. He hadn't seen Agumon since the BlackWarGreymon fiasco. Granted, that wasn't anywhere near as long as the time between their original adventure, and then the reopening of the Portal, but he still worried about the little guy. Yes, BlackWarGreymon had been stopped, but Arukenimon and Mummymon were still on the loose. Izzy had been keeping an eye out for more Spire Digimon, and the younger kids still kept knocking them down whenever they happened to find another. Ken was being extremely helpful, having drawn several maps of some more, out of the way spires, but there were just so _many_.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely heard the tell-tale beep that heralded the arrival of an email. The sound rang out clearly in the quiet air, leading Taichi to withdraw a small silvery-grey object from one of his larger pockets. He lifted the screen for his D-Terminal and checked the small blinking letter icon in the corner. The message popped up in a separate window, the text scrawling across as it filled the screen. It was from Izumi Koushiro, though he preferred to be called "Izzy", much to Taichi's approval. Koushiro was a mouthful, and they were buds, so there was no reason to use the last name. Izzy was undeniably the 'brains' of the original Chosen as well as their voice of logic and reason.

Taichi frowned, what would Izzy want on a Sunday morning? He swung himself into a seated position, somehow keeping his balance on the thin metal frame of the jungle gym, and opened the email.

_I just received word from Agumon. He said Gennai sent him on an errand to Sector A-207, and he found some digimon he has never seen before. Will you go check it out? And make sure to bring your digivice so I can download the data!_

_-Izzy_

Taichi grinned, finally something to do! Plus it involved the Digital World; Agumon was obviously alright if Gennai was having him run errands, but why shouldn't he be happy to see his partner digimon?

For a moment he wondered why Izzy wanted him to check on some random digimon, before he remembered the redhead's self-imposed project to add and categorize all known digimon in that database of his. He snorted and shook his head fondly—Izzy was such a dork some times.

After a moment his smile faded—how could he get to the digital world? He knew just as well as everyone else that only the new Chosen's digivices, the D-3s, could open a portal. Taichi sighed; all of the new Chosen were taking a much needed break from Spire Hunting. Iori had gone somewhere with his family, Yolei's sister had dragged her off to Yamato's current concert. Daisuke, Hikari, and Takeru were planning on going to the beach to take advantage of the warm weather. Well, Hikari and Takeru had planned on going. Daisuke had invited himself along after learning the two of them were going to be alone together. Taichi snickered, imagining Daisuke's face. It wasn't that he didn't like the twerp—he _did _give him his goggles, and he _was _a Child of Courage—but it was obvious Takeru already won this contest. Taichi didn't even mind. He'd known the kid since he was a little brat, and he couldn't think of anyone better suited to take care of 'Kari.

After pondering this problem for a few moments something clicked. It was as if a little light bulb had turned on and Taichi realized that not all the Chosen were out. He turned back to his D-Terminal and opened another email. He didn't know Ken as well, and maybe just maybe he harbored a tiny little grudge for him using Agumon like that, but Hikari swore that he was extremely regretful, and…well…He'd been a great help since.

_I'm in kinda a situation here. Could you help me out?_

_-Taichi_

Mere moments passed before a new message arrived. Why was Ken up so early? Pfft. Overachievers.

_Sure. What do you need?_

_-Ken_

A/N: Welcome to the new and hopefully improved Chaos Rising: Chaotic Evolutions! Not too many changes yet. It's just…better, I think anyway. I hate the title, but I don't want to use the same one (because…CR:CE is kind of…redundant.) but I can't think of anything. Any suggestions will be welcomed! Up to chapter six is currently rewritten, and things are just falling in to place. Updates will be once a week, chapters permitting. Hope you enjoy the journey!


	2. Chapter 2 - Gennai

**Title: **Digimon: Chaotic Evolutions Redone

**Another timeline note:** The Christmas party hasn't happened in 02. So there is still friction between Ken and the others. I am working on rewatching season 2, but it's been a while so bear with me if I get anything wrong.

**Chapter 2 - Gennai**

Taichi shut off his D-Terminal after receiving Ken's affirmative reply. He lay back across the cool metal bars of the jungle gym, once more folding his arms behind his head to look up at the sky. The Chosen of Courage closed his eyes, allowing the cool morning breeze to ruffle his thick mane of brown hair, whipping the strands every which way. He stayed this way for a while before the warmth of the rising sun broke down through the barrier of clouds, causing Taichi to receive the full effect of the golden ray. Even through his closed eyes he could see the sunlight; the great burst of yellow color that followed the break in the clouds. Taichi sighed and sat up, turning so as to use his back as a shield between the sun and himself. It was times like these that made him regret passing his goggles on to Daisuke.

Taichi tensed as he heard approaching footsteps. It was so quiet; this park was situated far enough from a busy road that there wasn't even much road noise. He glanced toward the sound, toward the gate; passing through the park's gate was the very person that Taichi was waiting for. Ken didn't look any different than usual, his straight blue-black hair swayed slightly in the morning breeze, blue-grey eyes focused on the ground before him. He was dressed in his normal light grey attire, the slight bulge in his pockets revealing the presence of his D-3.

Taichi slipped off the jungle gym and walked over to the silent boy. Ken raised his head to lock gazes with the other Chosen before he lowered his gaze. "Good morning Yagami."

"Oh, don't give me that family name stuff. It's just Taichi." Taichi sighed, what would he and the others have to do to get this guy to loosen up? From what he'd heard, Ken was getting along better with the younger crowd, but he was still uptight and distant with the older. What's done is done, there is no use dwelling on the past…right? Besides, if someone worked to save the Digital World; Taichi figured they had earned the right to use his personal name. And he had the right to use theirs. "Well…Let's go."

Ken merely nodded a reply.

x-x-x

The sun was riding high by now, the morning melting away under its heat, with little wispy clouds drifting lazily high up in the sky. Kouji glanced irritably at them, it was starting to get uncomfortable—how long were they going to have to wait? They'd already had to shift positions a couple times, following the shadow cast by the stone as the sun slowly nudged it across the ground. Soon enough it would be noon, and already Kouji had left the shelter of the shade. He didn't mind the sun, but Koui—Anyamon—was panting already, and it wasn't even afternoon yet. The heavy fur seemed more useful in a cooler climate—or at night.

Some time back, Kouji had become impatient, and began to stalk the edges of the grass. He made sure to keep in Anyamon's field of vision, but he just needed to _do _something. Evidently, Anyamon felt the same, cracking one eye open and regarding his twin as Kouji glared at the grasses, "Are we just going to sit here all day?"

Kouji stopped his movement and shrugged, wiping away some of the beads of sweat forming on his bare forehead. He had long since removed his bandana—it was just too warm out. Currently he had it stuffed into the pocket of his jacket; he was considering shrugging that off too. "She said to wait for the messenger. If we try to look around on our own we'll end up getting lost."

Anyamon yawned, showing a row of sharp fangs, the heat was evidently making him sleepy, "I guess…I just feel like I'll drift off if we stay here."

The Warrior of Light frowned, and glanced up at the sky again. There were a few more clouds by now, but nowhere near enough to give them even the smallest reprieve of an overcast sky, much less a rainstorm. He shook his head, "Why not devolve? You would at least be spared the heat."

Kouichi didn't reply, pushing himself to stand on shaky legs. He wobbled a bit, but didn't tumble, steadying even as Kouji watched, "I'm still not used to being a Beast-type digimon…" He shook himself, "Let's walk at least. I need to get a hang of this."

Kouji checked his digivice out of habit, bringing up the holographic map. He half hoped to see the blinking red dots that would signify his fellow warriors, but the map was initially a blank field of nothing. It beeped as an error message scrolled across the screen, 'Communication error. Downloading data.' As he watched, the immediate area around him began to fill with a sketchy outline of the field, with only the small semi-circle around the stone in which he walked in complete detail. He hadn't seen this functionality before. To test it, he walked to the far side of the stone, watching with interest as the map began to complete itself bit by bit.

The D-scanner beeped again, and a faint blip appeared on the map, pulsing regularly along the edge of the map in a north-north east direction. It was…just like when one of the warrior spirits came within range.

He glanced at Anyamon, who had begun to pace in circles, working the kinks out of stiff legs. The warrior of darkness shrugged when he checked the map, "It's as good a direction as any."

x-x-x

"It took you long enough to get here." The spirit signal had led them to a spacious house sitting on the shore of a sparkling lake. Specifically a queer little contraption sitting in the front room, which beeped and pulsed with light for every answering pulse Kouji's D-scanner picked up. Kouji eyed the young man who had come out of a side hall shortly after they'd arrived, wary. He looked human enough, even if the long robe he was wearing looked like it came out of Star Wars. The warriors hadn't gone too far inside, just enough to see the machine that had led them here. Anyamon was taking some much needed relief from the heat, but the digimon remained alert. He'd been the first to note the newcomer's arrival, the scent of not human, but not digimon mixed with the tantalizing odor of roasting fish.

Kouji automatically found himself searching for the familiar feeling that triggered his spirit evolutions. It felt strange, off somehow, but the code responded readily enough, encircling his hand, waiting to be scanned, "Who are you?"

The man smiled amiably and unfolded his hands, raising them in a non-threatening matter. His robe was an off white, somewhere close to beige but not quite, and the hood was down, revealing a friendly face and brown, short hair. "Oh, is that spirit evolution? I've heard about it, but never seen it in action before." He appeared to have ignored the question initially, seeming more intent on the manifestation of the digital data swirling around Kouji's hand. Anyamon snarled, and he pulled back when he'd started to get closer to study the phenomenon.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Gennai. I'm…well, I guess you could call me a guidance program. You were due to arrive quite a while ago, but my messenger seems to have gotten himself lost so I jury-rigged this beauty." He patted the contraption fondly, "Angewomon informed me what frequency your digivices were on, just in case of such a problem."

"Angewomon?" Kouji said dubiously, which led Gennai to chuckle, "Oh, you would know her as Ophanimon, wouldn't you? She's not quite back up to full strength, but it is quite a road from rookie to mega, as they say. Even for Guardian digimon."

Relaxing—just a little, Kouji felt caution was completely and utterly warranted all things considered. They'd just been dumped willy nilly in this world. At least last time Ophanimon had _asked_—Kouji released the hold he had on Wolfmon's spirit. The code faded, and Kouji quieted Anyamon with a reassuring hand. He wondered how Kouichi was handling the digimon—he hadn't ever had to conquer his beast spirit like the others had, and even then Akemon had felt _weird_. Less like a spirit and more like that little gut feeling that told you not to touch the fire. More subtle. That made it harder to ignore. "Are you the Guardian then?"

"Me? Oh no. Qinglongmon looks after this sector, but I usually deal with the Chosen, so I've kind of become the liason of sorts. It is a little easier to talk to me than to a fifty foot dragon, after all." Gennai motioned them toward the hallway from which he'd appeared, one which had the pleasant aroma of food wafting down it. It reminded Kouji of how hungry he was. "Now, the door is not the place to discuss these matters. I've got some lunch waiting, even if it is a little cool by now. I will explain some things afterwards."

Neither Kouji, nor Anyamon were willing to turn away food, so they followed him inside without too much hesitation.

"You mentioned…Chosen." Kouji began, after the small, but filling lunch had been devoured. Fish and fruit mostly. They'd retired from the dining area to a small sitting room. Gennai had taken up residence in a rather plush arm chair, and Anyamon was spread out on the cool wood flooring and Kouji's feet. The warrior of light had purloined a comfortable chair, nowhere near as large or fancy as Gennai's, but it was acceptable. "Do you mean the Warriors?"

"Well, no. Chosen is the term here. I suppose you could fall under the term, although Legendary Warriors fit your situation better, from what I know about it. The Chosen are the children who are destined to save the digital world. They each have a partner digimon, and that partner digimon uses the children's energy to digivolve beyond their normal state of growth to defend the world. It isn't quite the same as your system, but we make do." Gennai chuckled, "The sectors of the digital world have quite a large amount of autonomy in how we run things."

"This topic segues quite well into the big meat of what I need to talk to you two about." Gennai grew serious. He turned, surprisingly, to Anyamon, most of the talking had been between him and Kouji before now, "You must have noticed by now. Did you tell him?"

Startled, the digimon raised his head from his paws, grey eyes wide. He glanced nervously up at Kouji, who was now frowning down at his brother. Tell him what? What had he missed?

Anyamon's ears drooped, "I didn't want to worry you."

"I suppose not." Gennai sighed, "Do you want to, or shall I?"

"I can't dedigivolve." Anyamon admitted quietly, "It felt…almost locked when I tried."

If the arm of the chair were alive, Kouji would be strangling it. He took a breath and released it, easing his clenched fingers apart. He stood up stiffly, the relaxed attitude gone as he leveled an accusing glare at the now somber man in the armchair, "What. Did. You. Do?"

Kouichi was stuck. Again. Kouichi still had nightmares of being stuck as Duskmon. Being stuck as Cherubimon's ruthless minion, but this time he was _aware _of everything, but unable to do _anything. _How _dare_ they put his brother through that again?!

"Me? Nothing." Gennai said simply, folding his hands into his sleeves, "But your partner is right—it _is_ a lock. Of sorts. Angewomon mentioned you were to avoid Spirit Evolution, correct? May I see your digivice?" Kouji nodded curtly, not trusting himself to speak. His knuckles were white by the time he pried his D-Scanner out of his coat and deposited it into Gennai's hand. The older looking man hmmed and hawed over it for a few moments, fiddling with the controls and the holographic displays. Kouji didn't even recognize half the screens Gennai was flicking through, "Interesting design. A lot of internal memory—why? There doesn't appear to be any data stored there… Hmm…oh! Here's the coding."

A large window appeared in the air above the screen, projected just like the map and compass where earlier. The strange writing prevalent throughout the digital world, scrolled across the screen. Gennai placed the actual device on the arm of his chair and was manipulating it via the projection, perusing the coding and flicking through separate tabs. "Aha. Here it is. This—D-scanner, did you call it?—has a few extra programs initiated. One is the lock. I assume you both have a digimon form? This program here locks one of you into your digimon form, so long as the other is human. You must both be digimon in order for—Anyamon, was it?—to dedigivolve. It is, in part, because you will be working closely with the Chosen. The portal between the digital world and the human world runs at a very low bandwidth. It forces any digimon that passes through it into their natural state. For the Chosen, this can range from rookie to in-training level, although Tailmon grew to a champion naturally, but she's an exception. We don't _want_ the Chosen knowing about the Spirits if possible—normally the sectors have their own Chosen and that's it. But this is a special circumstance."

"You can travel freely between worlds?" Anyamon asked, curiously, drawing Kouji's brooding away from the thought that his brother was once again trapped—even if this time there was a way around it. The Warrior of Light let himself sit back down, the weight of Anyamon's side a reassuring presence.

"Oh yes. Izumi and I put together the portal program after the two worlds synced up, even if it took the new generation of Digivices before we could manually open it. It definitely makes it easier to keep the digimon fed." Gennai laughed, pulling out another program and fiddling with it, "I wanted to talk to you about this before the others showed up. You both _must_ spend time as a is necessary to keep the data maintained so that you may be returned to your own world when the time comes. But I do not believe it is fair, no matter what the Celestial Guardians think, to trap you into a single role. I cannot remove the lock, but I _can_ whip up a couple programs to structure it a little. I plan on having you two placed with one of the Chosen, so I could set up a trigger to swap you both when you travel between worlds, as well as…smooth out any differences the Chosen may notice. What do you say?"

Anyamon and Kouji shared a look. The warrior of darkness let out a low grumble, "I won't change my decision, Kouji. I will be the one to fight."

He will be the one to fight. And Kouji will be the one on the sidelines. He grimaced, hating the situation utterly. It was such an inefficient system! Why split their power in half? Why force one of them into impotence, when they would be more powerful together?

But. Kouichi—Kouichi, not Anyamon—had determination shining in those eyes. A confidence that had been missing since the end of their adventure was blossoming once again, supported by the steady pillar of the digimon sharing his soul. And Kouji couldn't say no.

"Fine."

Anyamon gave him a toothy smile and bumped his head against Kouji's leg in gratitude.

Gennai beamed, clapping his hands together, "Well then, I shall have to get to work. I estimate we have another two hours before Agumon and the others give up the search—it should be plenty of time. Now, I will need both your digivices…"

x-x-x

"Agumon…are you sure about this?"

"For the last time Taichi, YES!"

Agumon waded ahead of the two humans, using his long claws to make a path through the tall, thick grasses. They completely swallowed him—even Taichi's could only barely see over top of them, and all he could see was even more green. "I don't know how you can be sure of anything." He said in disgust, "Talk about seeing the forest without the trees."

"The phrase is to see the forest for the trees." Ken remarked. He'd taken to carrying Wormmon when his partner almost got swallowed up and lost by the sea of grasses. They moved much faster than the smaller, many legged digimon, and he'd easily fallen behind.

"But Ken, I don't see _any _trees." He knew the comment was genuine—Wormmon didn't have an unkind bone in his body, but Taichi threw up his hands in frustration, "I don't care about the trees. We've been wandering through these fields for"—and here he checked his digivice, watches tended to spaz out in the digital world—two hours now. Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Of course!" Agumon continued slashing his way through the grasses, "I always know where I'm going. Digimon's intuition."

"I remember being lost quite a lot…" Taichi grumbled, but stretched to see further above the grass. He wondered what it would look like from a distance with his hair the only thing visible. Probably some sort of stalking animal.

It seemed like they were on the crest of a hill or ridge of some kind. The grasses grew shorter to his left, slowly ranging down to where it looked like they'd really only cover the digimon completely. But Agumon was moving along that hill, so it didn't look like they'd end up free from the claustrophobic green stuff anytime soon.

Except…was that something grey in the distance down that a way?

"Uh, Agumon?" Taichi began, "Didn't you say we were supposed to be heading _toward_ the big grey stone?"

The dinosaur digimon stopped, looking up at his partner, with curious green eyes "Do you see it?"

"Yes. It's _in the other direction!"_

x-x-x

Ken merely shook his head when Taichi tackled his digimon, putting Agumon in a headlock and the two began wrestling their way down the hill. Rolling his eyes he asked both Wormmon and himself, '_Why me?'_

A/N: Okay, okay. I said a week, but I hate holding on to chapters for too long AND I felt like the last one didn't have too many changes. Here is where events begin to change. It isn't too much, but I hope I was able to fix a couple of the plot holes surrounding the swapping mechanism. Since I didn't have Gennai explain it, the program he'll install on the digivice will…smooth out the differences in voice and facial structure between the two. It'll work on blurring the chosen's perception of Kouji/Kouichi, mainly in the digital world, but it does have limited effects in the human world as well.


	3. Chapter 3 - Introductions

**Title: **Digimon: Chaotic Evolutions Redone

**Chapter 3 - Introductions**

"Gennai! I'm so sorry I couldn't—" Agumon almost tripped over himself in surprise as he burst in through the door to the sitting room. He managed to regain his balance with much flailing, but the sudden stop had Yaga—no Taichi, Ken reminded himself firmly—tripping over _him_ and dragging the both of them to the floor in a heap. Ken came up from behind the two, shaking his head at the spectacle of Agumon attempting to squirm out from under the much larger Chosen. He bent down and picked up Wormmon and stepped around the body blocking the doorway, making his own way into a cozy room, littered with chairs of various sizes and shapes. They were obviously meant to be accommodating to many different types of digimon, from the average humanoid, to comfortable looking rugs, beanbags, and other miscellaneous items meant for the comfort of the more…unusually built guests.

Gennai had looked up at the entrance, a green, traditional styled teacup halfway to his lips. Ken saw the older man stifle a laugh which might have sent his tea flying. He returned the cup to the saucer he held and gave them a cheery wave, "Ah, Agumon. We've been waiting for you. Care for some tea?" He indicated the other chairs, and the rather large tea tray sitting on a foldable table just to the side. It held enough cups for all of the Chosen, and there were more than enough places to sit, "I'm afraid I was expecting more of you."

"The others were all busy today." Ken offered the excuse, keeping his interested attention on the other two participants in this little tea party. The examination was returned by an intense blue stare. He'd never seen this boy before. He appeared older than the other Chosen, although not quite as old as Taichi and the others. Dark hair was kept tied back by a patterned blue and brown bandana, and he was wearing quite a lot of blues. Blue jacket, blue pants. It was his expression that caught Ken's interest, however. Wary. Cautious. Rigid. The other Chosen were open, friendly, trusting. Even Iori, who had been the most vocal against Ken helping right his wrongs. This boy was…not.

His digimon was stretched out a little ways away, on a rug in front of a merry fireplace. Ken couldn't tell if it was supposed to be some sort of large black cat, or a wolf. He was leaning toward the cat idea, judging by the narrow and flicking tail. Dog and wolf tails didn't move like that.

Curious, cat slit amber eyes were staring at him—Ken firmly decided on cat, rather than wolf no matter what the muzzle shape—before shifting to the now disentangling pile of Taichi and Agumon near the door. Just because he looked like he was a boneless fast asleep kitty didn't mean much, Ken reminded himself wryly. He set Wormmon on the back of one of the chairs and helped Taichi up, hefting the elder to his feet.

Agumon took a few more minutes before he managed to gasp out, "Gennai! You found them? Well one of them. There was another—"

"They found me some time ago, Agumon. You were supposed to bring them here first." Gennai chided good naturedly, "No harm, no foul. I was hoping for the other Chosen as well, but we'll make due. Please, please, have a seat." He waved them toward the plethora of empty chairs.

Taichi was openly staring at the new boy, immediately jumping in to introduce himself as he plopped into a rather small, swiveling computer chair and rolling it expertly across the wooden floor. It was the closest to the newcomer, who had deliberately chosen a spot that was rather set apart from the rest, "My name is Taichi! Are you a Chosen? Obviously you must be—where are you from? We met Willis, I think he was from America, and Mimi lives out there. What brings you to this section of the world?"

"Kouji." The boy responded shortly, burying his attention in the tea he'd been ignoring until now. It was clear he had no intentions to continuing the thread of conversation. Ken, who had experience reading people even if his self-loathing blinded him to those closest to him, couldn't quite tell if it was due to a natural anti-social streak or just heavy thoughts. He seemed to be almost _brooding_ into that tea.

His digimon noticed it too. The great black cat—Ken couldn't believe that this was a _rookie_ digimon, he was at least half again as large as any of the others—stretched and rolled closer to the boy's chair, butting his head against his leg. Ken saw some of the tension ease out of the Chosen, and he saw one of his hands slip down to dig into the black fur.

At that, Ken decided it would be better to distract Taichi from the newcomer. Ken knew well how overwhelming people like Daisuke and Taichi could be. He picked a spot between Gennai and the others as sort of a middle ground, moving on to business, "Why did you summon us, anyway?"

"Oh, the usual. The digital world is in peril." He said cheerfully. That caught Taichi's attention, making him spin the chair around so fast he overshot and ended up with whiplash. "What!?"

"Oh it isn't quite that dire." Gennai responded with a laugh, "Although it could be, if we don't figure out what is going on. I'd hoped the rest of you would be here so I could explain…"

"Just tell us what's wrong, Gennai! We can always tell the others later." Ever the pushy one, Taichi had completely forgotten about the other boy with the prospect of trouble looming in the distance. Ken considered for a moment, and then added after Taichi's appeal, "Is it…Arukenimon and Mummymon? Have they shown up again?"

"No, no. I believe the problem is an immigrant this time, he isn't showing up in the databases so he can't be from this sector." Gennai folded his arms, "We aren't quite sure _who _he is, since no two reports are all that articulate, and the number of witnesses are nearly non-existent. In fact, the only confirmed sighting is from the Koromon Villiage—the one near where you found the Crest of Courage, Taichi—and the Koromon were too busy hiding to get a good look at him. The only thing they agree on is that he "feels like a mega" which is worrisome in its own right."

"What would he want near there?" Taichi wondered aloud; face set into a hard expression, and his head bowed. He was sitting backwards on the computer chair, leaning forward onto the seat back, "There wasn't anything other than the village…and the Crest…"

He sat up, staring Gennai in the eye, "What happened to the Crests after the tags were destroyed—anyway?"

"And so…you see what I have begun to suspect. The physical Crests were destroyed, but they were merely manifestations of a power that is an integral part in the cycle of evolution. They belong in the world, sharing that power with all the digimon, although never to the extent you children used them for. Without that power, what you know as the Crests, that cycle would stop." Gennai paused, clearly reviewing what he had to say as he took a sip of tea. He made a face at it—it was cold. "We've already seen a decline in digivolutions in Primary Village. It normally takes three days for a newly hatched baby digimon to evolve. It has been upwards of a week for some now."

Ken frowned, this sounded bad. He couldn't…remember it very well, but his Dark Spires had worked on a similar principle. He had…identified the force that allowed Digimon to evolve and…blocked it somehow. It was all fuzzy, like he'd been living in a dream. One he didn't realize was actually a nightmare until he woke up. Everything from that time felt unreal, blurred, except for the horror and guilt that his actions caused in him. That was painstakingly real. He had been able to block it…but never completely. "Could it be something similar to the Spires?" He asked at last, drawing the conversation back to him, even as the reminders of his evil gnawed at him, "If…I could do it…someone else could."

Gennai shook his head, "I'm afraid this doesn't appear to be that sort of interference. The spires blocked specific levels of power. This… Digieggs refuse to hatch. Babies don't evolve. These are signs—I know it." He sighed, "And here is where we come to my request. Ken, I _need _you and the others to find the Crests. I need to know if that is what the digimon was looking for. And you must _stop_ him."

"Where do we fit in?" The flat, somewhat chilly voice cut in, drawing startled attention from the Chosen. They'd completely forgotten about the other boy. He had risen up out of his chair, cold blue eyes fixed straight on Gennai, "We don't know _anything_ about these Crests. Or Spires. I understand that the world is in danger, but _why __**us**_. We shouldn't _be _here. We don't belong here. All the trouble we went through earlier proves that."

Without thinking, Ken kicked Taichi in the shin when the older boy tried to jump up. He could see the wild-haired teenager getting angry. It was almost like being with Daisuke, although Daisuke would have yelled at Ken, while Taichi rubbed his shin and shot him a dirty look. Ken shook his head, '_Listen.' _He tried to convey without words. It may be important. This sounded like the continuation of an old argument, perhaps one from before they got here?

Taichi seemed to have understood the meaning and settled back down again, although the brunet was obviously bristling at it. If he had been anything like Daisuke when he was younger, Ken marveled at his self-control. Satisfied there would be no interruptions, Ken turned back to watching. And listening.

"You are here…" Gennai said slowly, weighing his words with a care neither Chosen had ever seen him use. Even Taichi, who remembered the wizened old Gennai of his childhood, hadn't ever seen him this grave. Gennai, even against the threat of invasion by Vamdemon, always had a laugh and a bad joke to toss about. "Because of what you can do."

That comment seemed to slap the boy in the face. He stared mutely, obviously not expecting quite that response. It was frustratingly deliberately vague, Ken decided, but this 'Kouji' obviously knew exactly what Ken was referring to. That Gennai didn't want them to know was interesting…but given his background Ken could understand not trusting _him._

"What do you think would happen if Digivolution failed completely? We have the Armors, essentially five champions, against a Mega? _It won't work."_

Kouji grimaced, calculating the odds in his head and coming up negative. Slowly, he sank back down into his chair, now more…pensive and worried than the cold anger. His digimon was sitting up next to him now, and they whispered quietly to one another, too soft for Ken or Taichi to hear, since the latter had rolled his chair over to Gennai while they'd been talking. Agumon was closer, the little dinosaur had plopped down on a beanbag near where Taichi had originally been, and hadn't moved when his partner did. He _looked_ like he'd fallen asleep, but Ken noticed a glint of green. He was eavesdropping, but his targets didn't seem to notice.

"Now then!" Gennai clapped his hands, breaking the silence in the room, "Enough of this doom and gloom, there will be enough time for that later. Now to properly introduce you three since you should be working together for the present," He rose to his feet, placing the long since empty teacup precariously on the edge of the tea tray, giving no more mind to it. "Kouji, these are two of our Chosen, one from each Generation if you can believe that. Taichi is the one with the birdnest on his head"—"Hey!"—"And was the leader of the original eight Chosen. His partner is the lazy dinosaur over there—Hey! Agumon! Don't you be napping now!"

Called out, the digimon jumped up, looking more guilty than jerked-out-of-sleep-disoriented, but he sheepishly took the reprimand. "I'm sorry. It was just so comfortable…" The wistfulness in his tone indicated that it wasn't a lie. Agumon likely had wanted to take a nap. Ken had noticed that, for the most part, Digimon weren't very good at lying. That didn't mean they wouldn't avoid the truth occasionally.

"He also has a younger sister, Hikari, and a pet cat."

"Gee, tell him my favorite food why don't you." Taichi grumbled.

"This other young man is Ken." Even expecting it, Ken felt himself sinking into his chair. He hated being the center of attention. It reminded him too much of…_him_. The Kaiser. The Kaiser felt the attention was only his due, even as he despised those giving it to him, "He is the newest member of our current generation, and Wormmon is his partner."

Wormmon waved a foreleg in greetings from his place in Ken's lap, "It is nice to meet you."

"Ken, Taichi, our guest is Kouji. He is a Chosen from one of our neighboring sectors. He and Anyamon—that is his partner—were sent here to help us with our problem. Unfortunately, he cannot return home until the situation is resolved, so I will have to ask that one of you take him in for the duration of our investigation." Gennai turned from Ken, to Tiachi, and then addressed them both, "I know both of your parents sign up for the student exchange programs every year—do you think they would be averse to putting up a student so late in the school year?"

Kouji, guessing where the conversation was going, quickly cut in, "We are fine. We'll just camp in the Digital World. We've done it before."

Gennai shook his head, "Don't you remember what we talked about earlier? Besides, the Chosen tend to travel here directly from the portal located in the computer lab, and the digital gate changes outlet sectors every time. It'd be better if you joined them in school. I'll have you enrolled in the Student Exchange Program and assigned before you can say 'Digivolve'."

"We can take him." Ken cut in before Kouji could argue further, "My family has plenty of space, and my parents already know about Digimon. I don't think they would mind."

There was always an empty room in his house. One that was always kept clean and ready for a brother, a son who would never come home. It was a guest room now, but to Ken, it would always be Osamu's room.

"Yeah, my place is kinda crowded." Taichi muttered, "Between my parents, 'Kari, Tailmon, and Nero…well…it's enough to make a guy consider moving out."

Kouji crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, his irritation with the situation growing. Ken knew the type, independent, stubborn, and un-trusting. It would be hard to live with him if he stayed this prickly, but Ken would rather be around to keep an eye on him. Even if Gennai trusted him…

Anyamon, who had been silent until now spoke up, shaking his head and looking up at his partner's stony face, "I know how you feel about things like this—but we came here to help them; wouldn't it be easier to do that if we were with one of them all the time?"

Kouji struggled against the logic, and Anyamon said something softer. That seemed to decide it, and the Chosen sighed, defeated. Grudgingly he admitted, "Fine. But I don't like imposing on people."

"It won't be."

Gennai smiled, relieved to find something working out, "Good. Now to draw up some school records for you."

He pulled out two pieces of paper. Ken noticed, with surprise, that it was school records and personal information. One blank and the other all filled in. He caught a few kanji in the address, 'Shibuya? That wasn't so far away' before Gennai bent to work, starting to fill out the blank one using the other. Could digimon really use the internet so? It was a scary thought, one Ken was glad he—the Kaiser never caught on to. Imagining what someone could do if they could ravage the web for information was terrifying. Gennai muttered as he worked, "Name…Minamoto Kouji…"

"Put down Kimura Kouji."

"Hmm…?" The guardian glanced up, "Why would I…Oh, right. Is that his name?"

Kouji cut him off again, "Just do it."

Gennai shrugged, "Suit yourself…"

He spent some time filling in the form, before announcing he was finished. The white robed guardian whistled softly, a moment later an unfamiliar bird type digimon walked in. Gennai spoke to it for a moment before giving it the now completed papers. The bird-digimon took it in its wings and started to walk away. As it passed Kouji he spoke up, "Are you…Swanmon?"

The digimon stopped walking, "Yes. Have we met?"

Kouji shook his head, "No. I just thought that you were someone I knew."

Swanmon smiles, "Ah. You are Kouji right?" At his hesitant nod she continued, "Stop by Primary Village sometime. I'd love to talk to you about the other Swanmon. I've never met another of my kind."

Kouji gave a small, hesitant smile. It was the first Ken had seen. "Sure."

The bird type digimon smiled back, "See you then."

After Swanmon left Taichi spoke, "Who was that? I thought that Elecmon looked after Primary Village?"

"Hmm..?" Gennai glanced up, "Oh, he still does. Swanmon is helping. She is one of the few Champion level digimon that can travel to the real world's internet. Younger digimon are constantly slipping through the barriers, so she helps out a lot if one of the babies somehow gets in there. That's why I gave the records to her. She's going to slip into the School's Database and put the records there. The weird thing is…Digivolving to a Swanmon should only be possible by using the digimental of love on a Tailmon. It is strange."

Gennai continues, "However, a lot of digimon that should only be attainable through the digimentals have been appearing. Given the other issue we've been having, it is a little worrisome. Have any of your group had any trouble with them?"

Ken shook his head, "No. Not that I've heard. But then again with the digital world so peaceful we haven't needed to use them. Also with most of the….Dark Spires…destroyed we don't need to armor digivolve. We can go champion."

Gennai sighed, "I guess the answer to this riddle will have to wait for another day. Hopefully it will be resolved with the other matter. I'll contact you if I find anything relevant."

The older man stood the discussion clearly over, "Now, I will send Izumi an outline of what we've gone over today, which I will ask him to pass out to the others. I don't know exactly where the Crests are, but there was a reason they were located where you found them three years ago. I'd suggest searching the nearby area. But that will be another day. All that talking made me hungry—dinner, anyone?"

x-x-x

Izumi "Izzy" Koushiro, as he usually did, sat in front of his computer working silently on his current project. The furious clicking of his keyboard was the only sound in the dim room, as he was absorbed in the lines of code he was generating. Occasionally he'd stop and go back, picking over each method methodically. He lost time while doing this. Izzy was focused. It had been many, many, hours since Taichi and Ken had left, and he had barely ever thought about it. He didn't notice the sky changing color and darkening as the sun began to go down. Indeed, he was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to notice the flashing light that signaled the opening of the Digiport. He yelped in surprise as the screen suddenly blinded him, which led to three heavy objects falling on him, knocking over the chair and sending all of them tumbling to the floor in an undignified tangle

.

The red-head pushed one of the objects off of him and sat up, groaning and massaging his now sore back. He remembered now, Taichi had needed to use the digiport. They could have given him some more warning. They'd taken so long Izzy had decided to work on his homework for his university course, and…well…then he had lost track of time. He shook the stars out of his eyes and regarded the pile of teenagers with exasperation. He found Taichi's mop of unruly hair right away, but it was the other two made Izzy stop the scolding he'd been preparing to give, taking another look between them. One of them was Ken all right, but the other looked like a near carbon copy. Izzy did not recognize him at all. He had the same blue-black hair, the same blue-grey eyes, the same height; they could have passed as twins except for the fact that the newcomer's hair was shorter and slightly thicker then Ken's. He was rubbing his head, apparently having hit it against either the wall or the computer desk; Izzy winced in sympathy, he had done that once or twice. The transfer wasn't the smoothest on a good day.

Off to the side of the pile of kids were two digimon, they seemed to have handled the transfer better. One was the familiar green and brown pinecone digimon of Wormmon's in-training form, Minomon. The other was unfamiliar to the computer genius, which immediately caught his attention.

It was a white wolf pup, about the size of an average sized dog. Izzy noticed, categorizing the details—he would need to add them to the database. Fur was primarily white with shining metallic silver near the paws, tail, and ears. There was a navy blue design on its shoulder, and Izzy was startled to realize he recognized it. He cast back into his photographic memory; searching...It had been one among a multitude…hundreds upon thousands of runes. He couldn't remember exactly…was it the Apocalymon's tablet? Centaurmon's ruins? Andromon's battery? He could see the rune in his memory, crystal clear…now where was it…?

It would come to him, he knew. Just maybe not right now.

Putting it aside the moment, Izzy turned back to the pile and coughed, "Ahem…"

Taichi was the first to untangle himself, he looked at Izzy sheepishly, "Heh, heh, hi Izzy."

Izzy crossed his arms and glanced out the window, "What took you so long?"

The brunette winced, "Well…you see…_Apparently_ Agumon's errand was a little more complicated than expected, and the Digital World is in trouble again."

"I see that this will require hefty explanation." Izzy frowned and pulled Taichi to his feet before moving to help Ken. The new kid had already managed it and was nervously standing near the window, smoothing out the teal jacket he was wearing. Ken's gaze lingered on the new kid, but then he pulled his arm out of Izzy's grasp with a mumbled "I'm fine." Izzy shook his head, but let the dark haired kid go. Ken straightened up, grabbing Minomon up swiftly. The little insect digimon made a delighted noise, snuggling into Ken's arms even as the boy turned to the new kid, "We should head out now—I live in a different part of town."

"Alright, see you Ken!" Taichi waved with a yawn, and the new kid followed as Ken left. "Let me know if you need anything."

He hung around for a bit however, waiting until both of the younger Chosen were gone. "Wow, and I thought Yamato was frosty when we first met." The grumbled complaint had Izzy's eyebrow quirking in amusement, "Oh, not Ken. He's decent enough if you get past the 'why don't you hate me?' bit. That Kouji kid. He was even downright hostile to Gennai, and you know how Gennai is."

"Is that so?" Izzy frowned, thoughtful. He had not looked at all like Taichi was describing. Or even like Yamato, all those years before. Yamato had been rigid, cold, distant. The new kid…seemed shy. Uncertain maybe. Not that Izzy was any good judge of people. He was probably wrong. People were not like computers—they did not do what you expect them to 90% of the time.

"Anyway, Gennai said he'd send you the cliff notes version of the conversation." Taichi yawned again, stretching his arms, "Man, I'm beat. We're gonna need to get the gang together, as much as we can anyway. With Mimi and Jou gone…"

Izzy had righted his chair and was plugging away at his computer. He found a new email blinking in his inbox, but he left it for now. He checked his program, finding with annoyance that the mad scramble that had been the Chosen's landing had added a few lines of random letters into his code. "I'll try and get in contact with them. Did you get the data from the digimon?"

"There was only one, in the end. Kouji's digimon. Anyamon, I think is his name. He was rather quiet, not to mention the only one the kid would listen to." Taichi passed over his Digivice to Izzy, who had pulled out his old laptop. It was obsolete technology by now, as far as most of Izzy's classmates were concerned. It rarely left his house. He carefully handled the white and yellow machine, clearing a space on his desk to prop it open. He did not even use it for the digital gate since he had gotten the program onto his desktop, but…for his research it was phenomenal.

He took Taichi's digivice and plugged it into the port above the keyboard, waiting as the data was downloaded into the computer. It was slower than his desktop, the technology showing his age—but he had tried to replicate the digivice port on his desktop and it had failed.

At last three windows popped up. The first was of a majestic bird digimon with silver and gold armor etched with the crest of love. The symbol also rotated casually in the corner of the window, "Prodigious…" He murmured, reading through the information, "A naturally occurring armor digimon? That should not be possible."

"Tell me about it." Taichi plopped himself into a hard backed chair set against the wall. Izzy normally would not have bothered with more than one chair in his room, but since his apartment apparently became digimon central whenever school was out, he had added a few more. "Digivolving is all out of whack, apparently. That's part of the problem."

"Hmm…" Izzy saved the information to the database, and moved to the next window. It maximized to show a black, panther-like digimon. It had a different symbol on its hind quarter, but this one invoked that same sense of familiarity as the one on the white digimon had. As if they had been seen together. He would have to hunt down that memory. "Anyamon."

"Is that it?"

Bewildered, Izzy turned the screen so Taichi could see it better. The other boy pulled the chair closer, his amusement quickly changing to confusion and disbelief, "Really? And that's all that's there? No attacks or anything?"

Izzy shook his head. Other than the name and classification—Variable type, which he had never _seen_ before—the fields were filled with question marks. Under the main description was a simple sentence:

_Data not found._

Izzy quickly switched to the final set of data, this one showing the same white wolf that had been in his room not fifteen minutes ago. Everything was the same, pure white fur, dark blue symbol on its shoulder—even down to the scarf tied around its neck. "Akemon." Izzy read aloud, "Variable type."

The same '_Data not found.' _Haunted them from the screen. "This should not be possible."

"Izzy?" Taichi sounded worried. Izzy was vaguely aware of his friend by his side, shaking him lightly. Taichi was right to be worried. This was wrong. All wrong. His database, and the digivices—Gennai said—were wired directly into the network that Gennai's order had once used to monitor the digital world. Even if the information did not include everything about the digimon, it always had _something_. Even Kimeramon—in all his twisted, unnatural glory—had left a mark on the information network, giving them the barest of his details.

"That digimon does not exist." It was the only explanation. Every digimon ever created in the digital world had some data for the digivices to scan, and Izzy could download that data tag from the digivices. This one…did not. "It is impossible."

"Hey…Izzy…" Taichi spoke thoughtfully. Izzy was not used to that tone from Taichi. He tore his eyes away from the impossibility of the question marks on the screen, and looked at his friend. Taichi had a pensive expression, but he continued when Izzy responded with a shaky, "Yeah?"

"Does the word…Spirit, mean anything to you?"

"When it comes to digimon?" The chosen of knowledge latched onto the query, "Other than regarding Wizardmon's fate—no, I do not believe so. Why?"

"While Gennai was talking to us, Kouji suddenly demanded to know why he had to help us. Why he was chosen." Those words, Izzy remembered them. Yamato had yelled that at Taichi, back in Puppetmon's woods. "Gennai actually _responded_. He said… it was because of what he could do."

"After that, Kouji stopped arguing, but he and Anyamon talked for a bit. Agumon managed to overhear part of it. He said…he said…" Taichi stopped, groping back in his memory, "something about being told not to use the spirits. Then Anyamon cut in and said they were supposed to be a trump card…Agumon couldn't hear much more, since they started to talk quieter."

"Facinating…" Izzy welcomed this mystery. This one he could solve, given enough time and effort—he knew it. Not the damnation of—_Data not found._ "Perhaps if I research, I could find out exactly what it meant by spirits. If Gennai thinks it is important enough to actually give an answer to a question like that—rather than let the asker find the answer in time—it _must _be instrumental to saving the digital world."

Those two symbols revolved in his mind, and Izzy _knew_ they had something to do with it. And he _would_ find out. He would not let them stay a mystery for long.

x-x-x

A/N: Aaaaand there you have it. Chapter 3. The chapters to this story seem to be rather irregular in length. The next one is shorter than usual, I believe, so I'm probably going to post in on Saturday instead of wait another week. I've finally gotten to the point in my rewrite (not posted, but what I'm working on) where I actually have to add things instead of just change the existing framework, so it's slowing down somewhat. Also, I have realized, as I'm going through Season 2, that I've gotten a few things wrong. The fact that Izzy is living on his own here, and taking University courses, for instance. And that Jou is away for med-school, not close enough for Iori to run and get him such as in the Submarimon episode. Please treat these little inconsistancies as minorly AU. I suppose my original version was just as bad, but I realize them now .-.;;

Anywho, hope you enjoy. I'd love it if you would leave a comment (some of you do, and it's awesome! Really gives me drive to write this even when I shouldn't be—like…at work.) I also like to know if you guys approve of the direction I'm taking the story in. Right now I suppose it's not so big a deal, but later on…well, we shall see.

Oh, and pointers on characterization would be nice. I havn't gotten to rewatch Frontier yet. Or gotten to the 'Ken-not-being-evil' part. If they are overtly out of character I would like to know.


	4. Chapter 4 - Searching Light

**Title: **Digimon: Chaotic Evolutions Redone

**Disclaimer: **…I don't own anything that has to do with any seasons of digimon.

**Side Note:** Since, in Frontier, they always refer to each other by digimon name when evolved, I will do so here. However, if I do use their human name, it is always to emphasize the disparity between human and digimon. Hopefully it becomes clear enough in this and the following chapters, if not, drop me a note and I will try and explain further.

**Chapter 4 – Searching Light**

"He looks enough like a dog you could just let him walk." Ken said thoughtfully, "But the city has leash laws…" The comment made Akemon's ear twitch in irritation. He was a wolf, _thank you_, not a dog. He craned his neck, trying to level a frosty glare at the boy, but found himself thrown off by how _big _everything was. It hadn't bothered him in the Digital World, but here next to his brother in the stairwell of an apartment building, where he knew what height everything _should _be—it just felt off. Wrong. He wasn't used to being this small. Steps that took him little to no thought as a human had him puzzling over how to navigate them with four paws; the walls and ceiling loomed above him—hopelessly out of reach.

The smells though…they were awful. The scent of cleaner clogged his nose, what should have been a pleasant lemon scent was almost gagging him from its strength. Akemon hated it. Akemon wanted to get away from the smell, to find green and growing things, not the acidic taste of chemicals.

Kouji clamped down on those reactions, recognizing them for what they were. He focused on the conversation that was continuing overhead, trying to mute the growing alarm bells at each warped sight, scent, and amplified sound. Kouichi hadn't liked the idea of a leash—neither did Akemon much, but it beat being stuffed into a backpack like Ken mentioned most of the other digimon travelled. It might not be too bad for a duffel bag or something where he could stretch out, especially if he could have the zipper open so he could feel the air. He didn't like dark, still, and enclosed spaces.

"I'll see if I can find one, once we get home." Ken was saying, "But for now…once we get out of the building you might have to carry him. Hikari and Takeru occasionally carry Tailmon and Patamon around as if they were stuffed toys, just make sure he doesn't move too much and nobody should notice. People never do."

Akemon liked that idea even less. It had him growling quietly.

Suddenly, he found himself on his back, paws flailing madly in the air as he was scooped into Kouichi's arms. Akemon's first instinct was to scratch; Kouji quelled it, because this was his brother. It was Kouichi looking down at him, not an enemy, so he stilled. That didn't stop him from glaring.

"I'm sorry." Kouichi muttered in response to Akemon's grumbled complaints at the indignity, stating that he was perfectly able to walk and didn't need to be carried. But he didn't protest as Kouichi shifted him around so that they were both more comfortable, and Akemon was no longer upside down. He even felt a little bit better at this height. The world wasn't quite normal again—he was around chest height, and Kouichi was a little shorter than Kouji was in any case, but at least the perspective wasn't so drastically skewed.

The apartment complex's lobby was even worse than the stairwell when it came to scents. The noxious blend of cleaning products and dirt and rotting scraps gave way to a flood of _people_. They were the only ones in the lobby, but people scents were _everywhere. _Some were fresher; others so faint he couldn't quite make them out individually and they just became a giant mass of people. It was staggering, a far cry from the overabundance of green and living things and dirt and digimon he'd experienced in the Digital World. They were alien. Alien. Wrong. Akemon began to struggle, drawing confused looks from both Kouichi and Ken as they drew near the door to the street. He could hear the muffled sounds of the road through the glass, of the people bustling past. Izzy lived in a busy part of the city, Kouji noted, straining to keep that foothold. It was nothing to be alarmed of, Shibuya had been worse. Far worse. It was evening. People were going to dinner. Heading home from work. Normal things.

Ken pushed open the door, a rush of scents—people, oh gods, more people—blasted Akemon in the face. The stench of gasoline was magnified a hundred fold, filling the air almost like a palpable haze. Kouji snapped.

He was out the door and running before he even recognized Kouichi's pained yelp and Ken's exclamation of alarm. Akemon ran for the only thing he recognized in this world.

x-x-x

Hikari sighed as the doors of the train opened, hefting her heavy pack onto her shoulder. The others were all on the train with her, even though her stop was out of the way for the other two to head home. Boys. She rolled her eyes and stepped out onto the bustling platform, only half listening to Takeru and Daisuke snarking at each other as they followed. She'd had to deal with it all day, except for the few times when Daisuke ended up having too much fun to remember he had a rival. It had been entertaining for a while, but by now Hikari just wanted to get home, where she could rant to Tailmon about the idiocy of boys. Takeru at least should know better. And he did, but Daisuke always managed to rile him up eventually.

They continued bickering until they reached the street, when a quick "Ahem" on her part got Takeru's attention. He flushed cutely, embarrassed, "Are you sure you'll be alright heading home by yourself?"

"Yeah!" Daisuke jumped in, puffing himself up in that was he had when he was about to make what he considered a cool move. "'Cause if not I'll walk you home!"

And give them more things to argue about? How about, no. Instead she smiled, "I'll be fine. I have Tailmon with me, remember?"

She pointed to her heavy backpack to emphasize her point. Daisuke pouted, deflating, shot down again. "I guess…"

"Besides, I'm sure Chibimon and Patamon will need some air soon. You guys just head on home."

Takeru glanced guiltily down at his duffle bag, which squirmed viciously in agreement. "You're right; I guess I'll see you at school Hikari."

"Bye 'Kari!" Daisuke waved, shooting a glare at Takeru as the Chosen of Hope gave her a brief hug. He didn't dare try to attempt the same. "Tell that lazy brother of yours he still owes me lessons."

Hikari laughed and waved them off, setting off in her own direction. She could hear an argument start up behind her, but she tuned it out with a resigned sigh. One of these days Daisuke would grow up, and Takeru needed to stop letting him get to him like that.

She glanced at her watch. It was getting late, almost 7pm. She walked in silence, the daylight dimming as night approached. She didn't quite know what cause her to turn away from the shorter, main thoroughfare to her family's apartment, and choose a less traveled route to her home. It was quieter, and less populated perhaps. The park was relaxing, and Tailmon liked it. Maybe they could stop for a bit and just chill on the wings. Relax a little. She had been getting frustrated with Daisuke and Takeru's rivalry souring what should have been a relaxing and fun day. Her bag began to squirm as she drew near the park, her digimon partner climbing out to stand on her shoulder, one paw hooked into Hikari's hair to steady herself, "What is it Tailmon?"

The cat digimon didn't answer; instead she began sniffing the air. After a few minutes she narrowed her blue eyes, "I smell a digimon."

Hikari frowned, "Are you sure it's not one of the others?" It would be the first time Daisuke had actually decided to follow her home when she turned down his offer. If that was the case, she'd need to tell her brother. She liked Daisuke, but that would be going too far.

The white cat nodded, her purple tipped ears lying back against her head, "Positive. It's in the park."

A wild digimon? That wasn't something she could just walk away from. Hikari nodded, "Understood. Let's check it out."

Tailmon soon jumped down from Hikari's shoulder and began to prowl the shadow lined park. The setting sun had sent the shadows leaping from one set of equipment to another, plenty of nooks and crannies for a digimon to hide if they wanted to. The cat digimon followed her nose, stalking on all fours, her black claws gleaming in the dying sunlight.

Hikari trailed behind, her hand on her D-3 just in case. They hadn't run into digimon in the Real World since Vamdemon. She never liked to think badly of digimon—they were mostly nice people, who wanted nothing more than to live and let live—but stray digimon in the real world never ended well.

And Tailmon found it, her tail whipping about with agitation. She hissed at the trembling foliage, eliciting a low growl from the underbrush. Tailmon flexed her claws, "'Kari, stay back!"

Hikari didn't listen. She was drawn forward, gently pushing Tailmon to the side as she knelt into the grass. That growl sounded scared, not angry. She knew it just the way she'd known Tailmon hadn't been evil when they first met, all those years ago. She hadn't let the situation stop her then, she wasn't about to now.

She parted the branches slowly, letting the setting sun shine into the leafy depths. A digimon—for no dog could ever have that metallic shine to fur—was trapped amidst the brambles. The plant wasn't necessarily thorny, but the—wolf sounded right—had a scarf around its neck, which had gotten caught by the gnarled branches. The brush pressed right up against the chain link fence surrounding the park, and the digimon was caught halfway through a hole some animal had made through the barrier. He'd probably tried to scurry through the tunnel and gotten caught.

"Hey, don't worry. I won't hurt you." Frightened blue eyes stared up at her in confusion, the growl dying away into a faint whine. It shrank back into the leaves. Tailmon came over, warily trying to get between her partner and the strange digimon "Hikari, this isn't safe."

"Shush Tailmon. He's in trouble." Hikari held out her hand, "My name is Hikari. What's your name?"

The canine stared suspiciously at the offered hand, glancing up warily at the brunette's face as the panicked, feral glint receding from his eyes, "Akemon…"

"Akemon? That's a nice name." Hikari could literally see him calming down as she watched. It was a slow process, but the digimon stopped shaking, even if he was still trapped between the metal barbs of the fence and the branches of the bush. "How did you get here Akemon?"

"The smells…" Akemon whined, trying to cover his nose with his paws. One was caught beneath him, pinned in place by his awkward position, but the other tried in vain to block it out. Tailmon came forward suddenly, "You get used to it, trust me." She sounded almost…sympathetic? The cat digimon glanced sidelong at Hikari, "There was a reason Vamdemon didn't bring many beast-type digimon with him, except Mammothmon, but he was supposed to go berserk. The human world…well…it stinks."

'_And yet you came for me'._ Hikari thought, watching as Tailmon crawled into the small space, her earlier hostility and suspicion left by the wayside in light of the situation. The Tailmon of three years ago would have never been so trusting, even at her behest. '_Even if you didn't realize it at the time.'_

Tailmon worked to free the digimon since Hikari couldn't both hold the branches open AND work the knots out of silver fur. She carefully minded her claws, and after some nervous looks, Akemon relaxed and let her. At least the poor thing had enough sense not to struggle much, the torn and cut metal wiring from the fence could easily scratch and draw blood.

She realized that she didn't know what to do once they got the digimon free. She could take him home, she guessed. If it weren't so late she could have taken him over to Izzy's and let him back through the portal, but…that was a decent ways walk from here, even though he still lived around the same area.

Taichi wouldn't mind. And Tailmon seemed okay with him, now that all the posturing and growling had ceased. The digimon was talking quietly, giving him tips on how to handle the sensory overload, even relating a couple of her experiences during the hunt for the Eighth Chosen Child, although she left her part in Vamdemon's plan out of the retelling.

Speaking of her brother, the phone rang. She shifted so as the hold the opening with one hand, using the other to fumble her phone out of her bag. Taichi's cell number danced across the screen, along with the current time. She winced; this detour had cost her at least another hour. Of course he would be worried; she'd told him she would be back by 7. She flipped the phone open and prompted, "Hello?"

She had to pull it away from her ear when Taichi's worried ramblings came pouring through the speaker. She waited for a lull in his rhythm before answering, "Yes we all got back okay…No …Yes…For goodness sakes nii-san! Nothing happened!...Well. Something did happen, I guess, but nothing like that! I found a digimon in that park you and Tailmon like. He got stuck pretty badly; Tailmon's almost got him loose."

Tailmon had tried to untie the bandana first, but the wolf had growled sharply at her, so she had instead worked at clearing away the branches tangled in his fur. Next to go was the broken metal, her claws slicing through the thin wiring without much effort. The only things left were the multiple splintered branches hooked into the bandana, and she was trying to convince the squirming digimon to stay still, "Oh don't get your tail in a twist. I'm not going to cut it. If you keep moving like that my claws might slip, and then where would we be?"

Hikari smiled, before she realized her brother was speaking, "Oh. Well. I don't know how he got here, but I was planning on bringing him home. Tailmon would be able to look after him while I'm in school and we could take him back to the Digital World after class. What? His name? Akemon. Yeah. He's a little white wolf—what? Really? Oh. If he's never been in the human world before he might be in shock. Bolted straight for the nearest patch of greenery I think. Oh, okay. I'll call Ken. Thanks. I'll be home soon."

She hung up, turning her attention back to the struggling digimon, "Don't worry Akemon, we'll find your partner." She said it to be comforting, but the digimon went rigid. Tailmon took advantage of the momentary pause to untie the bandana, although how she did it with claws, Hikari would never know.

"Kouichi…" The whisper was like a dawning memory. All of a sudden the digimon went ice cold, "I need to go."

He tried to push past Tailmon, but the cat digimon barred his path, "Just wait. Don't go running off again." She waved the bandana at him, which had the wolf digimon snapping at it in an attempt to grab it back. Tailmon was too quick though, snatching it away again.

"He's with Ken." Hikari said hurriedly, before the digimon realized he could bolt the other direction. Tailmon had widened the opening in the fence when she cut the edges loose. "I can call him and they can meet us. They were leaving Izzy's so it can't be too far away."

x-x-x

"Please stay there. We'll be right over."

Ken hung up his cellphone, indulging in a heavy sigh of relief. He'd despaired at finding Akemon in the giant city, and Kouji had been nearly frantic with worry. It had been all Ken could do to keep _him_ from running off and getting lost too. "That was one of the other Chosen. She found Akemon."

"Where?"

"A nearby park. Let's go."

x-x-x

Kouji—Kouji, not Akemon, watched Hikari hang up the phone; "They're coming here now. Ken told us to sit tight."

He nodded stiffly; he didn't know what had come over him. He'd just…snapped. Snapped and ran, Akemon's instincts drowning him in sights and smells and the insistent demand that it was all _wrong_. He felt like he'd been put through the ringer. And he ached. Oh not the physical ache from running so far and so fast, not the remembered pain of the scratches, nor was it from being stuck for so long one of his paws was tingling painfully. No, he mentally ached. It was as if he'd just conquered his Beast Spirit. As if he'd just fought the instincts and won. He didn't count it as winning, he thought sourly as the girl took the bandana from her digimon and tied it back where it belonged—a little ripped but still intact—he'd lost it and just run. It had taken the combined efforts of Hikari _and_ Tailmon to bring Kouji back. And Akemon wasn't defeated, just quiet. The digimon had slunk back into the subconscious, but wasn't gone. Never gone.

These weren't like the spirits, Kouji realized with a start. Akemon _was_ a digimon. Not the data left over from one, with instinctual instruction bundled within. That's why it hadn't felt like releasing a spirit. That's why it worked more subtly. _He_ was Akemon. That's why he'd been fully aware as he ran, even as his human self had been swallowed up by all the new input.

He crawled out from under the bush, Tailmon didn't stop him this time, and collapsed in a boneless heap on the grass, back left paw filled with pricks and needles. He knew he should walk it off, but didn't care. The girl said Kouichi was coming. He had to believe that. He didn't even growl when Tailmon sat down next to him and began to pick the leaves out of his coat, smoothing out the tangles the branches had caused. She was…nice. Sensible. She'd tried to protect her partner from what could have been a dangerous situation, and then proceeded to help when she realized it was not. He could respect that.

They both felt _safe_, he realized, in a way he'd not felt before.

It was a simple feeling, just a "We're here, and everything will be fine." And he believed it where normally those words would only receive a derisive snort. Hikari smelled nice too. And if he focused on that, he could ignore everything his senses were telling him. He didn't have to think about the fact that he could pick out twenty individual people who had passed this way over the last two hours. That had been one of Tailmon's first pieces of advice. Focus on one thing. One scent. Ignore the rest. At least until it settled down.

With that in mind, he fell into an exhausted sleep.

x-x-x

A/N: I needed the scene with Hikari to happen, but I didn't like the overly contrived way I went about it last time. I hope ya'll are okay with the change. I realized that as a canine digimon, the human world would be quiiiiiiite smelly.

It's a bit shorter, about 3k versus the 5k the last few have been, so here it is a few days early. The next chapter should be up Weds or Thurs. I'm catching up to myself so I might put it off, but it'll definitely be up by this time next week. I hope ya'll are enjoying it, and the reviews I've been getting really do put a smile on my face.  
I'm also thinking of changing the name to Chaotic Evolutions: The Spirits Within. What do ya'll think?


	5. Chapter 5 - Good Night

**Title**: Digimon: Chaotic Evolutions Redone

**Disclaimer**: …I don't own anything that has to do with any seasons of digimon.

**Chapter 5 – Good Night…**

Hikari sat in the grass with Tailmon and Akemon, long after the digimon had fallen into a fitful sleep. "Poor thing." She murmured, itching to smooth out some of the ruffled fur, but Tailmon had most of that covered. She had a pile of crushed leaves at her side and was running her claws through the fur, searching for anything that might be hidden while she groomed.

"He must be young." Tailmon remarked, drawing Hikari's attention. She tilted her head, "You think so?"

Tailmon nodded, "It's only ever this bad right after the first major digivolution. Try going from not having a nose, or an average one, to one that smells ten times better than any dog, and THEN getting thrown into the stink of the human world. It settles quickly, luckily. If you digivolve a lot then you get used to the changes, which is why the others never had a hard time."

"It's strange…if he was so young, then how is he still a rookie in this world? As you said—the others all dedigivolved."

Tailmon shrugged, "Who knows? Why don't I turn back to Salamon? Why am I a champion? I'm no older than Patamon, really."

"Why is it so bad here?" Hikari took a moment to pull out her D-Terminal and sent her brother a quick email informing him that they were still waiting for Ken. Akemon had covered a surprisingly amount of distance in that frantic run, Ken had still been near Izzy's and it was at least a twenty minute walk. They had time, and she was worried that she hadn't known anything about this sort of situation, "If it's anything specific maybe we could do something to help…"

She hadn't even finished talking before Tailmon was shaking her head dismissively, "It is you humans. You all smell different, and there are hundreds upon hundreds—thousands even—all packed together like fish in a net. Digimon always smell like digimon, and we are far more spread out. Beast-type digimon don't usually live in the cities either, which is the closest we ever get to your world. They also avoid the factory areas like a cat to water."

"There are other things too—I can tell the moment your mom decides she needs to wash the windows, or if she wants to put off cleaning the kitty litter. I don't know how you humans stand those unnatural smells—or the smoke from those cars of yours. It's everywhere. A cat needs some decent air every now and then, or else it's enough to make even _me _sick."

"So that's why you like the park. And the beach." It dawned on Hikari. Every few days, more often if they couldn't get to the digital world, Tailmon always liked to go to this park. Hikari would sit on the swings and they'd just talk. On a particularly nice day, they'd go to the beach near the school, and Tailmon would just turn her face into the wind, breathing deeply.

Tailmon nodded, "The plants and the sea breeze help. It makes me think of the Digital World."

It was closer to thirty minutes by the time Hikari spotted someone entering the park. The sun was long since gone, and the lamps had flickered to life in that time. She'd had to fend off more worried emails, and had just barely stopped her brother from marching out to check on them. He could be such a helicopter sometimes. He _knew_ she could take care of herself in the Digital World; it was the Real World he was paranoid over. Akemon's partner—at least she assumed it was his partner—was hurrying down the path ahead of Ken, who was lagging behind somewhat. She took a double take when the boy passed under one of the lamps lining the path—he looked to be about her age, maybe a little older, and looked a lot like Ken at first glance.

Hikari pushed herself to her feet, waving them over as soon as she knew they would see her. She was off the path a little, they hadn't moved far from the bush they found Akemon in, the little guy had fallen asleep as soon as possible. Ken's look-a-like reached her first, out of breath and frazzled. She smiled reassuringly at him; she knew he was a good partner. He was worried. Worry for his partner. Relief warred with the worry and Hikari found herself wanting to reassure him, "Kouichi?"

He startled, looking at her, and then past her to where Tailmon was standing over Akemon protectively. "Akemon…" He breathed, the name almost choked out. He fell to his knees and gathered the digimon carefully into his arms. The wolf stirred, eyes cracking open a sliver and then sighing, snuggling into his partner's arms.

Hikari walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, "Are you Kouichi?"

His head jerked up, "Y-yes." And then he shook it, as if clearing out cobwebs, "N-no. It's Kou-ji. But he calls me Kouichi sometimes."

"Ah, a nickname." Hikari smiled, "Probably because you are number one, eh?"

At his blush, she giggled, "Don't worry; I'm no stranger to nicknames, or puns. My brother likes to think he's downright punny sometimes. I'm Hikari. I'm glad we managed to get you two back together."

"Thank you." He looked so relieved, even as he gently shifted his partner to be able to stand. He turned to her and gave her a shallow bow, the best he could manage with an armful of Digimon. It was Hikari's turn to blush in embarrassment, "There's no need! Really! I'm just glad to help."

"I would be careful with him, if I were you." Tailmon climbed up to Hikari's shoulder, so she could be at the level to eye Kouji intently, "He had a bad case of sensory overload. He's too young to have been taken out of the Digital World." Her tail lashed, showing her agitation, "He'll be sensitive to smells and noise. Stay inside. Stay quiet. The shock will pass soon enough, quicker if you let him sleep as long as he wants."

He nodded, gratefully, "Thank you—ah—"

"Tailmon." She responded haughtily. Hikari gave Tailmon a curious look as Ken caught up to them. He caught Kouji's attention, demanding in his quiet way, to know what happened. The diversion let Hikari back up a bit, tilting her head to address Tailmon in an aside, "What was that for?"

Tailmon shrugged, wrapping her tail around Hikari's shoulders. The gold band of her tail ring gleamed in the lamp-light, and she dug her paws into Hikari's hair. Almost…possessively.

"I…never had anyone to help me through it. The human world is the worst, but some parts of the digital world can be pretty bad…" She admitted, "When I first became Salamon…it was hard."

Hikari didn't even think about it, she just swept Tailmon off her shoulder and into a hug, "I'm sorry I took so long to find you."

Clawed paws dug into her shirt, returning the hug as best the smaller digimon could.

x-x-x

Ken stuffed his hands in his pockets, lost deep in thought as he walked down the street. He couldn't help it. He didn't know how to deal with this new Chosen. He'd been thrust into their midst with obvious reluctance and after leaving the Digital World he just seemed…_different._ Instead of allying his suspicions, that difference gnawed at him in a completely separate way. Little details had him glancing sadly at Kouji—no, Kimura—and then jerking his gaze away in both irritation and pain. He had to keep the other distant. He had to. He shot another glance-the other was keeping pace with him as they walked, cradling the exhausted Akemon with a tenderness he never would have believed given the way he'd acted to Gennai. They'd gone the long way home—walking and a bus ride—instead of the subway, to spare Akemon the noise and the press of bodies in the tin cans that the trains could be at times. Although it was late enough it probably wouldn't have been a problem. He also liked the walk because it was darker, and the dark blurred details so Ken didn't realize how much Kimura looked like _him._ Like what Osamu should have been, he had lived.

Perhaps it had been the bandana. Perhaps it had been the hostility. Osamu had been quiet, but not rigid. Kimura seemed…softer now. The hard edges blurred away without the power and mystery of the digital world. Or maybe it was seeing him so cycle through emotions beyond anger and stoicism.

'_Osamu…_' His hands curled into fists at the wistful thought, fingernails digging into his palm. He thought that he had gotten over this; the burden of guilt that had haunted him since his brother's death. The feeling that maybe, just maybe, if Ken hadn't wished for him to go away, Osamu would still be around. The wistful thoughts of a young child, whose last words with his brother had been angry, spiteful, and directed to hurt. That argument was the last time Ken had spoken with his older brother. Osamu died the next day.

'_I didn't mean it Aniki!' _A younger Ken had cried then, tears gathering in his large eyes, _'Come Back!'_

But he didn't come back.

Ken shook his head violently; there was no reason to be thinking about this now. He should've been thinking about what to tell his parents when he got home. His parents…

Ken froze in mid-step. How would his parents react? His mother had always been an emotional woman, much more comfortable with showing her emotions than her son was. She had cried for weeks after Osamu's death, clinging to her husband and youngest son like a drowning woman clings to a rope. Ken's father had expressed his own grief a different way, by pushing Ken harder and harder in his school work.

"Ken?" Suddenly he noticed he'd lagged behind. Kimura stood a few feet in front of him, looking back at him with genuine concern. He gathered himself and forced himself to start walking, "I'm fine. Come on, we are almost home."

He let Kimura stay a few steps ahead, surreptitiously wiping something from his eye. Dust, he told himself. Only dust. Nevermind that it had been wet.

He had resented the attention once, believing that they had tried to replace the son they had lost by forcing Ken into his brother's place. Yet, Ken couldn't really blame them now. He had just felt neglected. They had seen Osamu, not Ken. When they complimented him, they were praising how much like Osamu he was. Athletic, smart, and infamous, they were all things Osamu had been before he died. It was no wonder he had taken refuge in the Digital World, a place where no one knew his brother. The one thing that had been _his_ before Osamu had tried to take it away.

Ken shook his head, catching the attention of his partner digimon. Minomon wriggled out of Ken's backpack, somehow balancing on his shoulder with the thin tip of the pinecone, "What's wrong, Ken?"

"Nothing Minomon…I am just worried about my parents' reactions."

The little digimon bounced in place as Ken walked, his high, piping voice asked "Why?"

"It's…nothing." Ken shook his head. He stared straight ahead, counting the steps toward his home, Minomon a comforting presence on his shoulder.

x-x-x

Ken walked silently down the hallway of his apartment, mulling over the events of the day. His parents had taken Kimura's arrival rather well. Apparently they had been notified by the school about the 'exchange program' hours beforehand, and all their shock must have been either used up, or hidden before Ken brought Kimura home. His mother had looked pale, but she'd been determined to be the proper host, having a small reheated dinner ready for them when they got home. She'd been startled over having a "dog" in the house at first—the exchange program had never said anything about pets—but once Ken explained Akemon was like Minomon… His parents were surprisingly tolerant of digimon. Perhaps they recognized what Minomon had done for Ken. What he meant to Ken.

They had given Kimura Osamu's old bed room, just as Ken expected. He paused in front of the open door, looking in to a room which was always dark. Always closed. Always empty. Now it wasn't. He didn't know how to feel about that. It _was_ still Osamu's room, even if his brother's things were long since been packed away.

Kimura stood over by the window, looking out toward the city lights. Ken blatantly ignored the little part of his mind that saw his older brother standing there, he would get over it. Instead he glanced at the rest of the room. Kimura's jacket lay discarded on the bed, a blue-green splotch of color in the otherwise neutral room. Akemon was asleep on the bed, head buried under the jacket to muffle both scent and smell. Kimura hadn't said much. Not beyond what Tailmon had told him. Ken hadn't known the digimon were susceptible to such things, but he supposed a canine or cat-type would have a better nose than say, Patamon or Chibimon. Although the In-Training digimon had a suspiciously keen nose for food…

Ken shook his head, stifling a yawn. He had school tomorrow so he couldn't stay up all night being paranoid. He didn't understand the new kid, things just seemed…different since returning from the Digital World. Kimura had even participated in dinner's conversation, shyly answering Ken's parent's questions about his family, although he avoided saying where he was from. Perhaps it had just been stress. Ken knew he should trust Gennai, but he _hated_ the secrecy. He hated being able to _see_ that something was off, but not be able to do anything about it.

Gennai's cryptic comments. Agumon's eavesdropping results. Kimura's personality shift. Even Akemon's outburst was circumspect. What were the odds that a digimon young enough to be susceptible would be partnered to one of the Chosen? Ken supposed that Kimura might have been called only recently, and that was why Akemon was so young, but that thought just itched at him. Kimura hadn't acted like he was new to the Digital World. Ken distinctly remembered the wonder and joy he'd experienced upon discovering that magical, strange, and wonderful world. It was partially those feelings that had led the Kaiser to be so possessive of that world. It was his to keep and to use.

Kimura hadn't been flustered by anything. He didn't even have the happy appreciation of the Older Chosen, who were used to it but treated every visit as a gift they might never see again. Kimura had a grim, wary approach to the Digital World. He treated it as if it were…part of a duty. Constantly on the look out.

Then again, he supposed some people were just like that. Ken shook his head. More to the point, as close as the partner and digimon, Akemon was not old enough to have a handle his senses, and yet Anyamon was clearly further evolved. He hated the idea of assigning a level to them, but if he _had_ to he would say Anyamon was a _rookie_. His experience would also peg Akemon for a rookie. None of the in-training digimon were quite so large, or complex. How could there be two rookie forms? Two personalities…two rookies…

The thought slid away from him. He guessed Anyamon _could_ be a champion like Tailmon…With a sigh he shoved everything away. He was tired. His thoughts were getting all jumbled up. That was enough standing here—he had to talk to Kimura.

He knocked on the door frame once, enough to catch the other Chosen's attention, but not enough to wake Akemon—hopefully. The digimon didn't stir, but Kimura turned. "We will need to be up early; it is a 15 minute walk, and they probably will need some time to get you placed in a class." Ken spoke quietly, "Akemon and Minomon can stay here, and we can pick them up after school."

"Gennai mentioned the computer lab?" Kimura asked at the same volume, he didn't want to wake Akemon either, "Wouldn't they need to come with us?"

Ken shook his head, "The others go to a different school. We will meet up with them afterwards."

Kimura nodded, and turned back toward the window "Ken?"

He'd almost turned away, but stopped, glancing back over his shoulder, "What is it?"

"Your mother…" Kimura trailed off, "She…isn't comfortable with me, is she?"

So he did pick up on that. Ken glanced away, letting out a heavy sigh. He leaned against the door frame, trying to find out just what to say, "…You look like my brother."

Kimura turned slowly; his eyes immediately found the picture tucked away in the corner of the dresser. Ken followed his gaze—his mother hadn't moved it with the rest of Osamu's things? It was small, it wasn't like the memorial photo they still kept in the living room, but it was there. "He…died…Five years ago. We never got over it."

Before he could say something that he might not be able to take back, Ken shook his head, turning away, "Good night, Kimura."

x-x-x

Kouichi heard Ken's footsteps retreat down the hall, and a click as a door settled into its frame. He left the window and closed his own door, blocking out the view from the hall. Without thinking he flicked the lock, his eyes kept going back to the photo on the dresser. It was a boy of about Ken's age, with a quiet smile and large glasses. His hair was thick and shaggy. Ken's brother.

There was a sleepy yawn and the shuffle of cloth from behind him, and Kouichi pulled himself away from photo. Akemon was shifting, stretching, and rearranging the blankets he was curled up on. Kouichi grimaced, as he saw drooping blue eyes peering out from beneath his jacket, "Sorry. Did we wake you?"

"Maybe." Akemon yawned, still drowsy. He shifted, jerking his head to toss the jacket so it was lying across his neck and back, almost a blanket. Kouichi knelt down at the side of the bed, to bring them on an even level. "Are you okay?"

"I still smell the detergent from dinner's dishes." Akemon snorted in disgust, trying to clear his nose, "But…I know what to pay attention to now. Ignoring it made it explode. I'm just…tired…it's not like the other spirits."

Akemon rolled over on the bed, eyes closed and paws outstretched. Kouichi smiled and moved onto the bed next to him, ruffling the thick fur around his neck, "You know, you are pretty cute like this."

Akemon growled at that, using one paw to swipe weakly at the offending hand. The he stopped, bolting upright and staring at the white bandage that wound its way around Kouichi's forearm. Kouichi flinched, automatically moving to hide the evidence. The he stopped and sighed, it had been seen. No point in trying to cover it up now. He let Akemon inspect the scratch critically, "I did this."

It wasn't a question. Both of Kouichi's arms would have been littered with scratches if it hadn't been for his jacket taking the brunt of Akemon's frantic clawing. It had been the one that had broken both fabric and skin that had caused him to lose his grip. Kouichi had mended the jacket after dinner while Akemon slept, borrowing a needle and thread from Ken's mother. It had been then when he'd noticed her unease. She'd hesitantly offered to fix it, but he'd declined. It wasn't like he wasn't used to mending clothes.

"Don't worry about it, little brother." He smiled, tweaking one of Akemon's ears with a little flick. He couldn't give him a proper hug like this, but while they had gotten closer over the years, they still weren't the most overtly affectionate of siblings. They liked quiet contact. It was nice. It was a way to remind each other that they were never alone.

Akemon hunched in on himself, and Kouichi could see the guilt and self-loathing starting to move in. He wasn't about to let it get comfortable. He reached out and dragged Akemon closer, settling the startled wolf against his side. He wasn't about to admit it, but he liked being able to pick up his brother like this. His indignant reactions to being manhandled were a good distraction from unpleasant thoughts.

"You aren't going to _stop_ that are you?" Akemon grumbled, accusatory. Kouichi just gave him a sly smile. They were both far more comfortable when it was just them. "Just you wait; I'll get revenge when_ you_ don't have any hands."

"I think Anyamon is a little too large for you to pick up, little brother." He chuckled at the responding grumblings, which ended up with a plaintive whine, "Why do I have to be so _tiny?_ Takuya would die of laughter, and then he would come back to taunt me about it."

"Just be glad he is not here." On a whim Kouichi scratched Akemon right behind the ears, in the spot he'd noticed his class' pet rabbit always enjoyed. Kouichi had always liked that rabbit. It was getting old, and was rather docile, but it always got to his feet to demand a petting when it was Kouichi's turn to feed it. He was surprised to find Akemon completely melt under the touch, going near boneless.

"Akemon likes that…" His brother muttered, his voice thick, sounding almost dream-like. Kouichi stopped suddenly, and Akemon made a plaintive whine. This was wrong. He'd expected a sharp nip, or another swipe. Not…this. Kouichi pulled back warily, "…Kouji?"

The small body went rigid at his voice, and then shook violently, trying to shake himself out of a stupor.

"Akemon doesn't want you to stop." Kouji said grimly, looking up at Kouichi, "He is _not_ a spirit."

Kouichi could believe that. Anyamon had been _there_ in a way Lowemon wasn't. But… "Ophanimon just said to treat it like another evolution."

"I'm not wrong about this." Kouji refused to budge on the point, "Akemon is…me. But he's not me. I don't even notice the difference until someone calls me on it. Wolfmon…was a set of instructions. He was confidence. Skill. I knew things as Wolfmon, but it was still me. Garmmon. Determination. Power. It was a fight, controlling that power, but I was the one fighting."

"Now…this feels like _me, _nii-san." Kouji huddled closer to Kouichi, not protesting when the elder twin moved him into his arms. "I know it isn't. I'm _human_. But it's not a human-as-digimon like Wolfmon. Akemon likes being held. Akemon likes your scent. Akemon is _happy_, even as he feels sick from the human world's scents."

"Do _you _like being held?" It was quiet, but the question cut through Kouji's increasingly hysteric ramblings. His brother was going to think himself into a panic if he went too much further.

"…yes—no—I _shouldn't_…and it _scares_ me."

_Because it might not be me._ Kouichi knew that feeling all too well.

"I was Duskmon." Kouichi admitted quietly, "I wasn't a human. Just Duskmon. It gives me nightmares now, but at the time…it was perfectly normal. I remember…trying to kill you all. Multiple times. I saw Seraphimon _die, _and the only thing I could feel at the time was annoyance than Mercurimon was the one to kill him." He took a breath, shivering at merely touching those memories, "I understand. It's alright to be scared. You've never gone through something like this before."

Cherubimon had taken Kouichi, the boy, and _twisted _him. Twisted the spirits, twisted his soul, twisted them all up and around and together so you couldn't tell where one started and the other began. Often, in the dark of the night, Kouichi would wonder if that was why he felt so _right_ as Lowemon. If that was why he felt _wrong _in his own skin. He'd gotten even more withdrawn after he returned home, uncomfortable with himself. The sense that something was _missing_. Something he would never get back. He didn't even want to think about how things might have turned out if Kouji and the others hadn't tracked him down. There had been a gaping hole in his soul, and he had been _dying_.

A hole that still itched at him. He could feel Anyamon in the back of his mind, a warmth—muted by distance. Kouichi closed his eyes and reached, reached for the warm presence he couldn't bring himself to hate, even as all sense had him screaming that he would be trapped again if he did it. He'd beaten that voice before, when he'd gotten over his fear of Duskmon to embrace Lowemon. Anyamon settled into and around his twisted self, just as the digicode snaked around his body and molded it. It felt _right_. His body shifted, settled, and then he _was_ Anyamon.

The first thing that bombarded him was the sheer number of scents, leaking through the miniscule gaps in the window frame, from under the door, from the ventilation grate. He blocked it all out—Anyamon knew what to do. He was older than Akemon. He was the elder. And Kouichi knew enough to listen to Anyamon. He breathed in the scent of his brother, nestled uneasily between his paws. The warrior of darkness relaxed, this was safe.

"You'll be caught!" Akemon hissed, alarm overriding everything as he scrambled away, presumably to return to being human. Anyamon yawned and flicked an ear, "I locked the door. Go ahead and devolve if you like. You'll be more comfortable that way."

A flicker of will, and the light died, darkness flooding the room—the only light the glimmer from the city beyond the glass. Anyamon rolled over when he felt the energy building, when the white and blue code began to snake around Akemon, hiding him from sight.

He felt a heavier weight settle behind him, a hand hesitantly touching his outstretched paw.

Kouji's quiet "Thank you…" left him humming, a satisfied purr lulling the both of them to sleep.

x-x-x

Please, don't ask where Kouji's identity crisis came from. I have no idea. Well. I do have reasoning for it that I will go into when Kouji starts to come to terms with the fact that he's not alone in his head (hint, it has something to do with that lone wolf attitude of his), but I have no idea why my brain suddenly went, "You know, this whole spirit rookie thing needs its own plot-line."

Yeeeaaah. By the way. According to the old fic, the next chapter would be the beginning of the end, right? Weeeeell…not any more. All the questing and "filler" (which isn't really.) I cut out of the original is back! Yay! I have an actual plot this time rather than OMG random bad guy woo!

Hope ya'll enjoyed it. I got some feedback on the possible title and I figured I won't use it. I'll keep it the way it is until I think of something better. Apparently there is an old fanfic called the Spirits Within, so I definitely don't want to willing steal another person's title. I knew it was a FF movie, but didn't know about the fic.

I won't promise an update date this time, since I'm halfway through the chapters I have finished now. I'll try and keep them fairly regular however Leave any feedback you have, or comments, or issues, or anything of that nature. I read everything and even take some of it into account. I definitely upped Ken's suspicions a bit because of a reviewer's words ^_~


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: **Digimon: Chaotic Evolutions Redux

**Chapter 6**

"Kimura!" Ken hurried through the crowded hallway to catch Kimura before he left his final class of the day. It wasn't so bad near the upper level classes, but he still tried to ignore the way people hastily moved out of his way. There had been collateral damage from his arrogance, he admitted. Most people were hesitant to approach him, even as they wondered what had happened to their arrogant boy wonder. He had deliberately underperformed to try and lose the shine of genius, but… that had just garnered him attention of a different kind. At least quitting the soccer team had _mostly_ gotten rid of his fan club.

The other Chosen looked worn out, but otherwise seemed well. It was late enough in the year that people could have been resentful of a newcomer, especially one with Kimura's class statistics behind him. Ken had seen the schedule the office clerk had handed off to Kimura that morning-surprised as he was to find out that Kimura was in 3rd year, he recognized the schedule as a rigorous course of upper level classes. Considering this school was one for the gifted, it spoke highly of Kimura's previous grades.

He didn't think anyone would cause actual trouble for the new student, but Ken knew well what resentment and jealousy could do to people. Especially to newcomers. He'd borne the brunt of the Upper Classmen's jealousy for the greater part of the year as he'd continually showed up their test scores while being only a 1st year.

They pulled away from the mass of people, both moving unusually fast to escape the attentive stares of the other Upper Classmen, curious as to what their tarnished star had to do with their transfer student. Ken let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when they finally made it out of the school building. He slowed the pace, easing his bag on to his shoulders. It was heavy, filled with textbooks, both class related and not. He'd found it harder to absorb information, in comparison to…before. He actually needed to study, rather than take one glance and memorize it. He…didn't mind, actually. It felt better this way. He was actually earning his knowledge.

"I realized I didn't have your email." Ken broke the quiet. One thing he noticed between the two of them was that the silences stretched long. They weren't uncomfortable silences—not at all. They were surprisingly companionable, as he'd discovered on the walk to school that morning. It was the silence of not needing words; neither were much for useless chatter. "Or else I would have asked you to meet me at the gates. I'm afraid the upperclassmen don't like me much."

"Email? I don't have a phone or anything to check it."

"The D-Terminal email." Ken explained, pulling out the machine Izzy had given him. And then he paused. The others had their D-3s _create_ the D-Terminals, but that had only been because they needed them to store the digimentals. Izzy and Gennai had worked together to design the things, and it had been the chosen of knowledge who had supplied the older group, and eventually Ken. Cell phones could send email too, he supposed, but the D-Terminals were years ahead of the current technology and worked on a different network. Cell phones wouldn't work in the Digital World. "I suppose…I will have to ask Izzy if he has another. When we split up it is easier to keep in contact through email."

Kimura took the rectangular silver device, popping the screen opening to check the interface. After a few moments he handed it back to Ken, "Sounds useful. The digivices only track."

"Are there other Chosen, where you are from?" There would be no need for tracking if Kimura was the only one. He'd figured out from listening to Hikari and Takeru's stories that Chosen Children were only called in times of crisis for the Digital World, and those types of situations usually needed more than a single person. He almost expected Kimura not to answer, but he got a response. It was soft—he seemed to be naturally soft spoken, regardless of however he'd acted in the Digital World—but Ken caught it over the street noise as they walked, "Five. Then I joined. So six."

Five. There were five other Chosen Children, somewhere in this world. He wanted to say Japan—Kimura was obviously Japanese and spoke Japanese like a native—but it _couldn't_ be. They would have met him before now. How many others could be out there? He'd been told of Willis and Micheal, but how many others helped protect the Digital World?

How come they never tried to stop _him?_

The thought bothered Ken as they fell into silence again. If there were other Chosen out there, why hadn't he, as the Digimon Kaiser, ever known about them? They wouldn't have been able to ignore the…things…he'd been doing, right? They should have tried to stop him. Even if he hadn't met them, he should have seen random spires destroyed. _Something._

But then Ken thought about the map he'd had in his fortress' control room. Squares upon squares of sections, each with a control spire. What had been _beyond_ that edge? The Digimon Kaiser hadn't bothered to look, taking as much territory as he could safely control.

Could there be other servers of the Digital World out there? Each with their own Chosen? It was an interesting thought, and he might have to speak to Gennai about it. Or Izzy.

The question followed him home, haunted him as he entered his family's apartment. He put it aside once they returned, busying himself in changing out of his school uniform and into something more comfortable. It was nearing the end of the school term, so soon he would be free of the uniform for a while. Minomon pounced on him as soon as he opened the door to his room, "Is it time to go meet the others?" The digimon asked hesitantly, perched once more on his shoulder. Ken gave the little digimon a curious glance, "You appear to be in a hurry. Did something happen?"

He hadn't worried about leaving Minomon home with Akemon. The digimon had seemed quite well behaved in the Digital World, and Hikari had said the fit should pass after the night. A suspicion blossomed in his mind—had the other digimon hurt Minomon? Or bullied him?

"No. No!" Minomon squeaked, "He just asked…a lot of questions. He told some interesting stories too. There was one I wanted to share with Patamon though…"

Relieved, Ken continued packing. His school started sooner than the others, and let out sooner, but not by much. If they wanted to beat them there they would need to hurry.

x-x-x

Ken led the way to the computer lab. Kouichi followed, although at a slightly slower pace. He was being very, very careful not to jog the duffle bag as he walked. Akemon had been dubious about climbing in, but Ken had insisted.

"Akemon looks too much like a dog." Ken reasoned, "Security would never let him in."

It made sense. The guard at the entrance had looked at them funny, obviously not recognizing them as students. He'd made some noise about letting them in before Ken convinced him to call his superior. The manager had taken one look at Ken and waved them through—obviously he was known to these people. Curious, Kouichi listened to the conversation behind him as the Manager was lecturing the on duty guard,

"—recognize him? He's the one that won the International Computer Programming Contest! If he's taking the time to tutor the computer club then the Principal says he is welcome!"

Interesting. It was a nice addition to the chatter Kouichi had picked up during school. His classmates didn't care for him much, which suited Kouichi just fine honestly. He kept his head down, did his work, and _listened_. There had been a group at the front of the class snickering about Ken's latest test scores.

-"_the boy _genius_ is all washed up. He thought he could show us up? Pfft. It's about time he flopped"—_

He'd listened; interested in the background of the one he'd be staying with for the foreseeable future. Honestly? He didn't believe a word of it. The smug, eloquent, snobbish star of the soccer AND computer team didn't fit the sullen, withdrawn, but determined boy Kouichi had been observing. Either his classmates were deluded—and given the other student's reactions in the hall, unlikely—or something major had happened just recently to knock Ken's world upside down.

Kouichi wasn't given too much time to think about it; Ken led the way to the computer lab with the ease of one who'd walked this path many times before. The students were still in their classrooms—Kouichi noticed a couple curious stares from the students closest to the door—but most of them appeared to be fixated on the clock, with the more studious still taking notes as the teacher's voice droned on.

At last Ken stopped and moved to open the door. He paused, warily eyeing the light that was shining through the rectangular window. There didn't appear to be anyone inside, so why was the light on? Eventually Ken shrugged and turned the handle, the door leaving its wooden frame with a quiet _snick._

"Oh! Ichijouji!"

The call from the front of the room caught Ken like a startled deer. Kouichi tried to see around his companion, finding a tall, middle aged man striding down the aisle between the two halves of the room. Rows of computers were situated on each side, with about two placed along the thin tables. The man had been at the front, a stack of papers scattered liberally at the desk before the whiteboard.

"I see you're still helping out the club. I can't tell you how good it is to know that an upstanding young man like yourself is volunteering your time to tutor our computer club. They're all good kids, but they can be rather distracted in class. Knowing they are in the care of someone as accomplished as yourself is a relief." He clapped Ken on the shoulder good naturedly, before looking past him, blinking behind his thick glasses, "Say, who is this? Did you bring a friend this time?"

"Ah, yes." Ken seemed to compose himself, and Kouichi had the weirdest feeling he was seeing _himself_ when one of the teachers at his school suddenly pounced on him. It was so overwhelming, and then it all just clicked, the polite smile and language sliding in to place like a mask, "This is Kimura Kouji—one of the students from my school. He has volunteered to assist me for the time being."

"It is wonderful to meet you, Kimura! I am the Physics Teacher, as well as staff advisor for the computer club—Fujiyama-sensei."

Kouichi found himself the center of attention now. Having more time to prepare for it, he was able to slide his own mask on much quicker, bowing respectfully to the teacher. "It is an honor."

"Oh don't be like that." The teacher waved off the formalities, "It is an honor for us that students from the esteemed Tamachi Academy are taking an interest in our school. Now don't mind me, I was just doing some grading since I had a free period and it is much quieter in here. I'll vacate the area before it is time for club to start."

And he kept his word. Kouichi let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding once the teacher had turned down his offer to help carry the stacks of homework, and managed to both juggle the papers and wave goodbye as he made his way whistling down the hall. Ken waited for a few moments before getting up and shutting the door. He let out a quiet sigh as he placed his bag on the table, opening it so Minomon could scamper out, "Alright. You can come out now."

Kouichi quickly set his bag on the floor, unzipping it before Akemon could tear out of the thick fabric with his suddenly vigorous attempts to get out. The small, furred form of the digimon was panting heavily by the time he rolled out of the now widened opening—glad for the air and space and to be out of the confining bag. Kouichi winced; he knew how much his brother hated that idea. He'd been counting the seconds as Fujiyama talked on and on while he packed up his things—it had taken much longer than he'd wanted. He snagged a chair and sat down, waiting for Akemon to roll to his feet and begin to pace, working the kinks out of his limbs. That had to have been uncomfortable.

"Oh! You have a digimon!" A small piping voice came from the far edge of the room, drawing Kouichi's attention to a large cabinet set against the wall. A blue blur came streaking out from underneath the shelf. The blur eventually resolved into a blue dino-type digimon, although it looked more like a dragon then a dino. A very, hyperactive dragon, it seemed as the digimon bounced onto Kouichi's lap, large expressive eyes staring up at the boy, "Is he your partner? What's your name? Where are you from? Do you have any food? Why aren't you talking? Have you seen Daisuke? Why is he growling at me?"

"What's your name?" The bouncing blue digimon was now peering down at Akemon who was indeed growling up at him. Ken, luckily, saved them from another myriad of questions by snatching him up off of Kouichi's chair and depositing him on the desk a few feet away. The digimon hopped up and down in agitation, "But—but—he hasn't answered my questions!"

"He might, if you would stop talking long enough for him to answer." Kouichi recognized that dry, but peppered with sarcasm, voice. It came from above as Tailmon leaped gracefully from the rafters of the room to land lightly on the computer desk, "Besides, it is more polite for you to introduce yourself first."

"Sure thing Tailmon! Anything for you!" He puffed up with pride, beaming back at the exasperated cat digimon, "I'm Chibimon—Daisuke is my partner!"

Kouichi smiled weakly, dizzy from Chibimon's antics. He just wasn't used to dealing with hyperactive digimon. Even Takuya hadn't ever been this bad; not even loaded up on sugar, and the rest of them carefully monitored his intake of that substance. "I'm…Kouji." He'd almost forgotten the changes in the names. He had mainly only talked to Akemon, and Ken and the teachers called him by his last name. It was easier that way. That had been Kouji's plan, most likely, and Kouichi was grateful for it.

"Nice to meet'cha!" He bounced again. "Are you suuuuuure you haven't seen Daisuke? He's late! "

Tailmon rolled her eyes and crossed the table to bop Chibimon on the head. The little blue dragon tumbled to the table protesting, "The bell hasn't even rung yet."

Just as she said that a high, shrill note went off over the loud speakers which sent Chibimon into fits of delight, "The bell! The bell!"

The cat digimon sent Kouichi a look of long suffering, before she grabbed the dancing blue digimon and dragged him to the other side of the table. She called down at Akemon, "You might want to move out of sight."

No sooner had Akemon shifted under the cover of the table did the hall fill with people. The students, at long last released from their labors, flooded the corridors. Most went one way or another and the noise was muffled through the closed door. A couple peered curiously through the door's window, but moved on. Apparently the computer club was a common enough sight.

A faint whine drifted up from under the table, and Kouichi nudged the now mostly empty dufflebag closer to the hiding digimon with his foot. Akemon stuffed his head back in gratefully, trying to block the noises and scents from coming through. Ken had thought to put some of his mother's dried herbs and flowers into the bag, to soften the scents from the trip. Akemon didn't seem to mind natural smells.

The door rattled, drawing his attention to it. He turned to the door, seeing the brown-haired girl from last night push her way through. It clicked shut behind her and she sighed heavily. She was wearing pink and white today, with what looked like a digital camera on a cord around her neck. Would those work in the Digital World? He wasn't sure.

"'Kaaaaaaaaaaaari!" He ducked his head to avoid something whizzing overhead, the sound of the name and the beat of wings warning him of the oncoming projectile. The girl—Hikari? He wasn't positive, he'd been distracted at the time—made an 'Oomph' sound as the orange blur collided with her, forcing her back a couple inches. She wrapped her arms around the digimon, its wing-like ears fluttering with the motion, "Is TK here yet? Where is Takeru?"

"He'll be here in a minute." She said soothingly, giggling. "I went on a head of the others."

"Patamon?" Kouichi blinked, feeling a distinct sense of déjà vu as he recognized the small orange winged digimon. He shook his head, even as the use of his name caught Patamon's attention. He squirmed around in Hikari's hold, looking over his shoulder, "'Kari, who's that?"

"His name's Kouji. Where's the rest of you?" She looked about the room, spotting Tailmon and Chibimon. Ken and Minomon were sitting apart from the little knot around Hikari, watching the clock quietly. The halls had emptied, and the others still hadn't shown up.

"Sleeping like a cat on a windowsill." Tailmon responded, "I'm surprised Chibimon didn't wake them up." She prodded the dragon digimon, who was glaring daggers at Patamon. The winged digimon didn't seem to notice. A couple flaps of his wings had Patamon airborne and hovering curiously in front of Kouichi. Looking down into those big blue eyes kept reminding him uncomfortably of Bokomon's "child", even if he was lacking the large pink band he'd inherited from his mama-papamon. "Have we met?"

"No, it was another Patamon."

"Oh! I've never met another.—what was he like?"

"He was very brave. Very brave, and very loyal. He saved all our lives." It wasn't Kouichi who answered. It came from beneath the table. Akemon staggered out. He looked ill. Kouichi wordlessly reached down and picked up his brother, placing the much smaller digimon on his lap. Kouji didn't even argue. Obviously he remembered their conversation last night.

"You must be Akemon." Patamon hovered lower and patted the digimon on the shoulder, sympathetic, "We'd hoped you'd feel better by today." Akemon grumbled his thanks. Kouichi really hoped the others showed up soon so they could get into the digital world. His brother needed a break.

"That's no fair! You spoke to him but not to me?" Chibimon ducked out of Tailmon's reach, scrabbling across the table and perching on the edge closest to the others. The glare the dragon digimon directed at Patamon intensified, if it were possible. It was one which should have sparked a fire and incinerated his target—if he hadn't been so small and cute that is. Patamon returned the glare with equal intensity; they must be rivals over something, but over what he couldn't tell.

"Oh cut it out you two." Tailmon cut in. The cat digimon parked herself next to Hikari—who had been watching the whole thing while trying to stifle her giggles—and rolled her eyes at the two, flicking her tail irritably, "You are acting like babies."

"Okay, Tailmon!" They both chorused at the same time, only to glare at each other directly afterwards. It wouldn't have been as funny if Chibimon hadn't been half Patamon's size.

"They are worse than you and Takuya…" Kouichi muttered under his breath. He heard Akemon give a muffled snort in response. Kouichi couldn't help prodding his brother's side, earning an ear flick and a half-hearted swipe in return. That was a good sign. "At least we weren't fighting over a _girl_."

Kouichi caught an ear flick from Tailmon, and a startled look crossed her face. Kouichi didn't bother fighting the smile, if his brother's hearing was anything to go by; she had to have heard him. Any further comment on the juvenile behavior was derailed, however, as the door to the computer lab opened once again.

"Takeru!" Patamon cried, losing all interest in Chibimon; his wings beat the air rapidly as he propelled himself toward the person in the lead. He was about Hikari's height, with messy gold hair beneath a sand colored cap, and a face that smiled and laughed easily. He reminded Kouichi immediately of Tomoki with the hat, but the smile was all Takuya. The boy laughed, catching the digimon in his arms, "Patamon! How was your day?"

"Great!" The winged digimon chirped happily, "There was no class today, so we didn't have to hide the entire time." Catching Takeru's look he added, "We were careful! But then that teacher showed up and we had to scramble to hide, but Ken and Kouji showed up and got rid of him. Then Hikari came and now you're here!"

"Mm-hm." Takeru replied skeptically before addressing Chibimon, "Daisuke and the others are right behind me." The dragon broke out into another sequence of excited bouncing, running along the table and making a surprising leap across the aisle to the other side. The little party broken up, Takeru noticed Ken and Kouichi, "I see you guys made it okay. That's quite a ways to travel right after school. My name is Takaishi Takeru and Patamon is my partner."

Kouichi tried to return the boy's smile, but he was starting to feel uncomfortable. So many introductions, and there was still more to come, "Kimura Kouji and my…partner Akemon."

Any further conversation was cut off by a plethora of people trickling through the now open door. The leader was a boy who immediately reminded them of Takuya, right down to the goggles on his head. He had messy dark red-brown hair and dark brown, bordering on black eyes. Next to him was a girl, who was a little taller than her fellow. Her most distinguishing feature was her long purple hair—dyed? It had to be. Even in another world he didn't think that color could be natural. She had large round glasses, which she paused briefly to adjust as she moved inside. Behind her was a smaller boy. He appeared to be a couple years younger with a short, neat, chocolate brown hair.

"Daisuke! You're late! Are we going? Huh? Are we, are we, are we!?" Chibimon launched himself at the boy in the lead—the one with the goggles—catching on to his shirt and scampering up to the shoulder. That, or in the arms seemed to be a good spot for the smaller digimon, Kouichi noticed, as two more digimon squeezed out from under the cabinet. A pink ball with wings and a little red feather on its back was rooming excitedly around the girl, and another ball, this one with yellow fur and feather-like extrusions was yawning sleepily, only to be gently picked up by the younger boy.

Goggle-head laughed loudly, "Of course Chibimon! We just had to wait for Taichi and the others."

"Yay!"

Three _more _people filed in, two of which Kouichi recognized from the night before. It was Taichi and the red-head he'd briefly met last night. The last person was in the same uniform as the other two—it looked like a standard High School uniform, dark-green—but she was in a skirt rather than slacks. She was smiling fondly as she watched the antics between digimon and their chosen—this appeared to be par for the course, as strange as it felt to Kouichi.

Hikari and Taichi worked together to explain Kouichi's presence to the others, so Takeru ended up doing the rest of the introductions. He moved to sit in the chair next to Kouichi, quietly pointing out the others, "This is the rest of our team. The one with the goggles is Motomiya Daisuke. The girl is Inoue Miyako, her partner is Poromon—he's the pink one. That is Hida Iori and his partner Upamon. The others—" He indicated the three elder teens, who stood a little bit off to the side. They didn't appear too interested in Taichi's recount of their meeting the day before, perhaps he'd already told them? "Are Izumi Koushiro and Takenouchi Sora. Koushiro prefers to be called Izzy, though. They are some of the older Chosen. I think we are splitting up to look for the Crests today, so they decided to come along."

"Okay guys!" After some time, Taichi suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "Now, everyone got the email from Gennai right?" There was a round of affirmatives, "Good. We're splitting into three groups today. Daisuke, Ken. You two are with me. We are going to check the Koromon Village. Takeru, 'Kari, you two will be with Sora. Izzy will take Miyako and Iori—a"

Daisuke interrupted, "Hey! Why does TJ get to go with 'Kari? I want to go with Kari!"

"Daisuke." Taichi responded firmly, as Takeru flushed and Hikari giggled, "I'm sending 'Kari with Sora for a reason. Sora's Crest was found in an old base of Etamon's, and Tailmon is the only one with an ultimate form."

"Then I'll go instead of TA." He crossed his arms stubbornly, "I'd need to be there to protect her."

"Takeru's crest was found in the same pyramid. He's going with them." Before Daisuke could protest again, Taichi headed him off, "I need you with _me_ Daisuke. The digimon we're looking for is a mega, and he was recently seen near the Koromon villiage. If he's there, Wargreymon could use your DNA evolutions as backup."

Even as Daisuke tried to look sullen he seemed to puff up in importance at the special task he'd been given. "Fine. But if anything happens to 'Kari…" He gave Takeru a threatening glare. The blonde gave him a smile and thumbs up, "Don't worry. She'll be fine with me."

"You two nitwits like to forget that I'M the one who protects 'Kari." Tailmon said in a huff, to which Hikari responded by grabbing her unceremoniously into a hug with an exaggerated, "My hero!"

Everyone except Daisuke laughed at that. The goggle-head steamed, shooting daggers around the room, especially when he noticed even the new kid was laughing quietly. Even Akemon chuckled.

"Well, where's the new kid going?" Daisuke hrmphed, crossing his arms, "Don't tell me _he_ gets to just sit around and have a tea party while the rest of us are busting our butts finding these crest things."

Kouichi shifted uncomfortably now that the attention was back on him. He shrugged, "I'll go wherever."

"We could use another." Izzy said thoughtfully, "I was thinking we could look for the cactus where we found Mimi's, or the stadium for Jou. They were all in the desert, and with Halsemon and Kabuterimon we can cover a lot of distance. Does your digivolution have flight?"

Kouichi shrugged. He didn't know. Izumi and Junpei were the only basic spirits with natural flight abilities. If their rookie forms were based off their spirits, it wasn't looking likely for Anyamon's evolution. If they could even figure out _how_ to use natural evolution.

"Hah!" Daisuke crowed, "You mean you can't even _digivolve_? What use are you then?"

"Daisuke!" Hikari scolded him, aghast at his outburst. He looked a little sheepish when he noticed her expression but didn't apologize. It was taking all of Kouichi's willpower not to wilt under the weight of Daisuke's unrepentant comment. He wasn't a Chosen. He was a warrior, and he was banned from using Lowemon. What _did _that make him?

Akemon had jumped to his feet and was growling at Daisuke, ears flat, teeth bared. "Don't you _dare_ talk to him like that."

"And don't you growl at Daisuke!" Chibimon puffed himself up on Daisuke's shoulder, "C'mon Daisuke, let's get to the Digital World! I'd like to see this puppy act so tough when I'm Veemon!"

"Both of you _cut it out._" Taichi cut in. "Kouji's here to help, Daisuke. And he's coming with us. Izzy—" He ignored the younger teen's sputtering, turning to the other. The rest of the Chosen had kept well out of the fight, broken up into their separate groups. "Could you set the gate for Sora's group and ours?"

"Sure. I have the coordinates right here." Izzy tapped his temple and moved in front of a specific computer. It took seconds to boot up, what appeared to be a window into a lush forest, a green light blinking in the corner of the screen. Kouichi stopped paying attention, deciding to ignore the Chosen as they chatted. Instead he ran his hand through Akemon's fur, both taking comfort in his brother's attempts at defense, and trying to calm the growls and tense muscles. At least once they got to the Digital World he wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. Not in the same way. He felt kind of guilty at the thought that he wouldn't be feeling so helpless anymore. It was selfish. He knew Kouji would chafe at both being on the sidelines, and being civil—especially if they were going to be traveling with Daisuke.

He just ignored everything, drawing back into that place he went so that he didn't have to hear the snide remarks when he wore the same clothes twice in a row. So he didn't hear the jealous mutters about his grades coupled with the insults to his shabby appearance. He remembered the rest of the warriors—being accepted as part of the group, even after the adventure was over, was a nice feeling. He remembered Kouji, coming over to help around the house, inviting him and his mom over for dinner, asking stiffly for some tutoring, when Kouichi knew his pride hated the idea of help…

After some time something touched him gently on the shoulder. He looked up to find Ken leaning over him. "It's time."

Kouichi shook himself, nudging Akemon who jumped from his lap to the ground to allow him to stand up. Hikari's group was gone already—when did they leave? Izzy was moving away from the computer, and the scene through the window had changed. It was now a tropical jungle, with small, rounded huts seen through the break in the trees.

"Alrighty Izzy, keep in touch." Taichi grinned and pulled out the small, squareish device Kouichi hadn't gotten a good look at the last time he'd seen it. It wasn't a true square, more as if it had inwardly curving corners. He assumed it was a digivice of sorts, Gennai had mentioned the Chosen had different models than they did. He cast back into his memory, trying to remember what they'd had to do to cross over from the other side. He honestly hadn't been paying too much attention, his focus being drawn every which way by all the sights and smells of the digital world. They'd stopped in front of a…TV? He remembered that much. And then Taichi and Ken had pulled out these devices…and then light, and falling, and all of a sudden Anyamon was gone, leaving Kouichi bewildered and alone in his mind.

He couldn't help himself—he was looking forward to being Anyamon again.

He fished his D-Scanner out of his jacket pocket, looking down at the digivice. It looked more similar to Ken or Daisuke's digivices in design; although neither of theirs had the scanning port for the digicode. They probably didn't need it.

The others were all facing the computer screen, digivices in their hands and waiting. Daisuke was standing closest to him, and the goggle-headed boy glanced to the side once, and then did a double take, "Hey, your digivice is different. It's black."

No one really had much time to act on his comment because Ken pointed his device at the computer screen, "Digital Gate, Open!"

x-x-x

The first thing Kouji felt was relief as the world materialized around him. He'd felt an unknown pressure lifting as they spun through the gateway, the presence of Akemon's mind retreating as the door revolved and the lock clicked, leaving him as human again. He managed to land on his feet this time, even with the disorientation from going from four legs to only two. Only Taichi, Ken and Daisuke were scattered around, the others weren't coming.

Daisuke. Kouji's expression hardened as he fought back a scowl. He did not like the Chosen. The reddish-brown haired teen was still decently close, but Taichi quickly pulled him away, talking to him in low, but sharp tones. Kouji didn't try to stop it as his lips pulled into a grim smile. It served him right.

Instead, he ignored the others for the moment. He used the time to stretch his arms, and tracked down his brother. Anyamon had ended up a little ways away, and he was working on getting the kinks out of his movements. It took him even less time than yesterday and soon Anyamon was moving without any awkwardness. Anyamon shook himself as Kouji approached, "How're you feeling?"

"Much better." Came the rumbled response. The great cat closed his eyes and breathed, Kouji immediately knew he was testing the air, cataloguing the scents in the immediate vicinity. Even thinking about that action had him feeling queasy. He retained little more than lingering after effects from his time as Akemon, but he was _not_ looking forward to returning to the Human world. Tailmon said it would get easier—and it _had._ But it was slow going.

"Hey, Kouji." Both human and digimon turned at the reluctant voice. Daisuke was walking toward them, a larger blue dragon digimon at his side. The Chosen had his hands stuffed sullenly into his pockets, and he refused to look at them. Taichi was watching him closely. Kouji gave the barest hint of a scowl before he blanked his expression. There wasn't even the pretense of warmth in his voice as he acknowledged, "Daisuke."

"Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Everyone's been talking about you and the Crests all day and…well. I got salty. Let's try and start over, okay?"

Kouji eyed the brunette warily, was he doing this because he was truly sorry? Or just because he got told off? Given the lack of actual apology in there Kouji was willing to bet the latter. Fine. They could start over. That didn't mean Kouji had to _like_ him. "Fine." He took the proffered hand shake, even if his grip was tighter than normal.

Meanwhile, the digimon were having a similar confrontation. Anyamon watched as the blue digimon broke away from his partner, creeping warily toward that great cat. "Still want that fight?"

"Uh, nope. Wow. You've sure gotten big." Anyamon was a head taller than him, "You sure you're a rookie?"

Anyamon shrugged. The dragon shifted uncomfortably before he suddenly stuck out a clawed hand as a peace offering, "Look, let's let bygones be bygones. You don't growl at my partner, I won't growl at yours. No hard feelings?"

Anyamon shifted to his haunches, lifting his front paw to place it in the other digimon's claws. The digimon brightened exponentially, getting a little of his Chibimon bounce back, "Great! I'm sure we'll be great friends. My name is Veemon, but you can call me Veemon. What's yours now?"

"Anyamon."

"Weeeell, Anyamon, old buddy, old pal." Veemon attempted to sling an arm over the big cat's neck, but just patted him on the neck when he realized he couldn't reach, "I think we'll get along swell."

x-x-x

A/N: Sorry, it's a day late. I totally meant to post this yesterday. I. Am. Not. Good. At. Writing. So. Many. People. Think about it! 6 digidestined, 6 digimon. Plus Sora, Taichi, and Izzy. Then Kouji and Kouichi. 17 characters! So I broke it up. Groups of three or four are more manageable. But they still have digimon so darn it x.x

Plot starts next chapter, I swear. It's a pretty darned large chapter. Daisuke randomly decided he wanted to be important. Then again, he kinda is the Taichi of Season 2 so…he kinda is. So Daisuke has a much larger presence in this fic.

I hope no one minds my use of both Japanese and English names for the kids. The way I justify it is the English names can also be nicknames :D

Let me know what you guys think. Or any suggestions, or even any speculations as to what happens next! It has nothing to do with what happened in the old fic, so no cheating :P

See you next week!


	7. Chapter 7 - Dawn like Thunder

**Chapter 7 - **

**What makes the dawn come up like thunder?**

Taichi sighed—why did he have to have the quiet group? Oh, Veemon and Davis were noisy enough, talking loudly amongst themselves and occasionally throwing Taichi a bone, but the other half of the party was too quiet. Ken, who didn't talk much on a good day, was rather distant. Taichi wondered what he was brooding on now, but really it was the last member of the group who was killing the mood. Kouji was downright frosty. Taichi had hoped the kid had unwound since they first met, given what he'd heard from Hikari's description, Ken's emails, and what he'd observed in the computer lab. It seemed like he had become more like Ken, reserved, but friendly enough. Then Daisuke had to go put his foot in it.

Taichi knew the type. Kouji reminded him a lot of how Yamato used to be, all ice and hard edges. Yamato had Takeru to protect; to give him a softer interior. At least he and Yamato grown out of it. Kouji definitely kept a grudge, and Daisuke's injured pride hadn't helped his apology. Taichi hated ursurping the new kid's status as leader of the New Chosen, but the Crests were a relic from _his_ era. He usually let Daisuke take point, but not this time.

He knew that, even if he couldn't digivolve, the new kid had something else up his sleeve. Gennai had said as much. Something that wasn't digivolution, because digivolution might not work. That idea left his shuddering. Digivolution was one of the core concepts behind digimon. What would happen when you took it away?

He shook the thoughts away, brightening as he spotted a very familiar blotch of yellow among the pink blob of bouncing Koromon that were gathering at the edge of the village. He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting, "Agumon!"

"Taaaaaai!" The dinosaur digimon waved back, but didn't rush to meet them. He didn't leave the knot of Koromon, and as soon as Taichi got closer he realized why. They looked…frightened. They were huddled together and around Agumon, as if…they took comfort in him.

"What's going on buddy?" Taichi tried to ignore the way the Koromon flinched away from their little ragtag of the chill had ebbed out of the teen's face, and he was now pale, staring out over the frightened digimon and what had once been a quaint little village. The largest building—the one with the hotsprings and the little amphitheater where the Pagumon had performed for them—was in ruins. It was the only thing that had been touched, but the village felt incomplete. Damaged.

"They can't tell me." Agumon responded sadly, dropping his arm to rest his claws gently against some of the Koromon. He whispered to them and then carefully pried them off, moving out from within them. They huddled together, "Don't worry. We'll fix everything. I promise."

The words didn't seem to help. Agumon shot Taichi a pleading look, and Taichi found himself unable to do anything to help. Instead he waved Agumon further away from the village, hoping the distance would calm the Koromon. "What happened here?"

"I got here last night, so I don't really know." Agumon rubbed his claw against his head, "Gennai sent me out after you guys left, and I found them like that. They latched on to me. The…Mega as they call him really terrified him. They said he doesn't exist." He lowered his voice, so only Taichi could hear, "They said the same as you guys approached."

Didn't exist…Taichi thought back to Izzy's words. '_That digimon doesn't exist.'_

"Is it Anyamon?" He asked just as quietly. Agumon shrugged, "I don't know. I don't recognize him, that's for sure. We hardly ever run into a digimon I don't _know_ about."

The others had caught up with him, and Taichi recounted that the Koromon were afraid of this 'Mega'. He didn't mention his suspicion, and stayed quiet when Daisuke started belligerently asking questions, "How long ago was this? Where did this guy go? None of them managed to even catch a glimpse of him? How the heck do they know he's a Mega then?"

"We can feel it, Daisuke." Veemon answered the last question, "Just like I know Anyamon is not a champion, even if he's reaaally big." He gave Anyamon a crooked grin, "The greater the power, the more it affects us. The more we can feel it. It always affects the weaker levels more. Of course, I'm not weak." Veemon puffed out his chest. Daisuke looked thoughtful, "So it's like a spidey-sense?"

"Yep!" Then Veemon paused, "…what's a spidey-sense?"

"Nevermind."

"They said he went to the waterfall. Where the Pagumon had us trapped. All they saw was a bright golden light, and then the main hall exploded, before it shot off toward the waterfall." Agumon pointed off toward the distance, where Taichi felt like he could almost see the mist rising from above the forest.

"Well. We might as well go there." Taichi said with a sigh, "Unless there's anything in the village?"

Agumon shook his head. With that they set off, following the track they'd find the trapped Koromon all those years before. Taichi, tired of the quiet, decided to regal a rapt Daisuke—and by proxy, the two quiet teens—with the story of how the Original Chosen had first found a Village of Pagumon where there should have been Koromon. He was just telling them about how they'd all been trapped behind the waterfall by Etamon when the trees suddenly disappeared. Taichi almost stumbled in surprise; he hadn't heard the roar of the waterfall. The solid curtain of rushing water was _gone. _Taichi knew Etamon had messed up the entrance when he'd sealed them inside, but _this_? Huge chunks of stone were thrown every which way; the flow of the river was split into a ton of little streams, all flowing sadly around and over strewn boulders. The cave that had once been hidden behind the picturesque waterfall gaped open like a weeping wound.

Taichi felt sick. Agumon's gasp wasn't reassuring. The dinosaur's clawed hand was attempting to cover his gaping mouth, "It's not supposed to be like this."

"You said there was a cave in, correct?" Ken asked, coming up to the edge of the deformed lake to study the wreckage. Taichi nodded dumbly, unable to speak coherently as he tried to reconcile his memories with the reality before him.

"Looks more like an explosion to me." Daisuke kicked at a rock the size of his fist, sending it flying into the lake. It collided with the water with a heavy plop, throwing up a small sheet of water before sinking out of sight. Kouji snorted, "Observant, aren't you?"

"Thanks!" Daisuke preened, but quieted at Ken's glance. The genius carefully picked his way toward the opening, eyeing the fallen rocks surrounding it. Wormmon struggled to keep up with him, little legs working furiously. The digimon stopped, having seen something, "Oh, this is a pretty stone…oh. It's sharp."

The Chosen picked up the shard Wormmon had dropped in alarm, studying it. Taichi didn't see what was so special about it. It was just a shard of exploded rock. Kouji didn't join Ken in the studying; instead he found a large pile of rocks to stand nearby, putting his back to the stone. Taichi realized that he was standing watch, scanning the area carefully, his hand casually on his digivice. None of the other Chosen ever acted like that, not even back when the Dark Master's minions were stalking them, or when the Digimon Kaiser was in the midst of his rampage. They'd been able to trust in each other. In their digimon.

It really made Taichi wonder about that kid.

Ken spoke up, "This mess is new." He indicated the rubble, "It isn't a result of Etamon's attack. It's more recent. The water hasn't had time to smooth away the jagged edges." He indicated where the rock had split and sundered.

"But the other side is smooth." Daisuke pointed out. He'd sat down and was trying to teach Veemon to skip stones, to limited success.

"Well yes. That side was on the outside of the pile; the water wore it away over the years since the cave in. "

"Oh! It must have been near the bump." Taichi turned to Agumon, "Bump? What bump?"

"Well, you see, I have revisited the Koromon Village a lot since…you guys left. Had to help them rebuild, you know? I always thought the waterfall looked bumpy. It used to be straight, right? Well, it changed afterwards, the water falls, and then flows off at an angle, like this." Agumon made an angle with his hands, "I always wondered what caused it, but there were too many rocks in the way."

"It was the rocks that changed the shape; but someone decided to blow it up." Ken tossed the stone away, carelessly. Wormmon caught it, juggling it awkwardly between his front legs. "Was there anything else behind the waterfall other than the trapped Koromon?"

"Yeah, I never got to that part. The back wall of the cave had the Crest of Courage on it. When I got it, the wall disappeared and led us to a desert that was far further inland." And he didn't want to think about how far. He remembered Izzy's map. They hadn't walked anywhere near long enough to cover that sort of ground.

"I think we have the proof that this…digimon…was at least interested in the Crest. There is enough rock debris to have required significant force to create this type of opening." Ken now stood on the edge, balancing on the raised rock lip above the shallow pool of water. He peered inside, "Agumon, we might need you to make some torches."

As much as Taichi didn't like the idea, there was only way left to go, "It's time to go spelunking!"

x-x-x

Kouji didn't like this. He wasn't…afraid of the dark. He just…didn't like it. The torch burning in his hand seemed feeble in the darkness of the tunnel. The floor was damp, and got drier and drier the further in they went, thankfully. Whatever had destroyed the debris blocking the entrance had also created a depression on the floor, so most of the water pooled there. Kouji glanced behind, at the pinprick of light that was the entrance. It was so far back now, and they hadn't even walked very long.

Ken, Taichi, and Daisuke all moved together in a group, their digimon sticking close to their sides. Kouji had pulled ahead, he wasn't completely comfortable with them at his back, but he at least trusted Ken to an extent. Besides, he would rather not be a single blob of target for anything that might come down the tunnel.

He turned back to the front, wishing Daisuke would complain a little more quietly about the fact that he'd gotten his socks wet. The loud voices bounced against the stone, so loud that Kouji had almost missed the faint scuffle of rock that indicated Anyamon's return. The big cat melted out of the darkness, the torchlight giving his golden eyes an otherworldly glow. He'd gone on ahead, scouting the way since he was the only one with competent low-light vision. Indeed, the torchlight made him blink a little, and he soon put his back to it and stared out into the darkness again.

"There are no side passages." Anyamon reported, "It's a straight shot for a ways, but then it hits a wall. There's…well. Just be careful, and stop when I do."

"Oi! Kouji!" The call came from behind. It was Taichi who jogged up to meet them. Kouji slowed, letting Anyamon pull ahead a little. "What is it?"

"What did Anyamon say?" Kouji relayed the report, and Taichi mulled it over.

"We've walked longer than the last time—and he says it's a dead end?"

"Not dead." Anyamon's voice drifted out of the darkness, he wasn't even a silhouette anymore. Kouji smirked when Taichi nearly jumped; Kouichi _was_ the Warrior of Darkness, after all. The dark was his element. "There's been a hole blown into the floor, so watch your step."

They caught up to him quickly enough. Anyamon sat on the edge of a yawning black pit, tail flicking nervously, and gold eyes glowing as he watched them approach. Daisuke pushed forward, peering over the edge even as Taichi snapped at him to be careful. "Oh, don't worry. I don't plan on jumping in." Veemon soon joined him. "Hey, Daisuke, how far down do you think it is?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Ken ignored the two, kneeling down to the stone floor to collect a small rock. He weighed it carefully in his hand and then snapped, "Be quiet."

The voices died, and Ken moved to the edge of the pit. He tossed the stone into the darkness, waiting patiently, intently until there was a faint 'sploosh' of rock hitting water from far below. After a few moments, Ken nodded, "It is about a fifteen foot drop. I would not recommend jumping. There is water, but we don't know how deep it is."

The dark haired Chosen began to pace, "If Iori were here Digmon could just tunnel down" Ken muttered, and Kouji realized he was trying to figure out a way around the drop. He frowned, "How do we know we even need to go down there?"

Ken waved his hand distractedly at the wall behind the pit. Kouji held his torch out, squinting at the lines carved into the stone. He hadn't noticed that they made a pattern before. They weren't very thick, but…they were beginning to look like a star? No, there were too many points. A sun perhaps?

"It's the crest of courage." Taichi said with finality, he stared uneasily down into the pit, "If this is the only way to go, we need to get down there somehow."

"Veemon or Wormmon could digivolve!" Daisuke suggested, "It's a little cramped in the tunnel, but they should be able to if they jump first, _then_ digivolve. They could then fly us down."

"It's such a waste." Ken muttered, "They'd have to dedigivolve right away unless the tunnel is much larger down there."

"If we head back to the jungle, we could find vines to make a rope?" Kouji added, doubtfully. It would take them an hour or so to walk back to the waterfall, and then another hour to get back here. But then that wouldn't work completely, Anyamon wouldn't be able to climb down a rope.

"I could use my Sticky Net?" Wormmon suggested cautiously, scurrying to the edge, "It's really strong…And once down I could create a net for you to jump into."

"That is probably our best bet. But make a rope for us to climb down, and then a series of nets for Anyamon. Digimon can survive large drops easier than we can, but there's no reason to risk it." With Ken's blessing on the plan, Wormmon set to work. Kouji watched with interest as the bug-type digimon began to spin his web as if he were a spider, and not a worm. Digimon were really odd creatures. Some of them were obviously based off of real animals, some were just weird (such as Candlemon), and others looked like they should make sense, and then they would surprise you.

Soon there was a white ladder attached tightly to an outcropping of stone, barely visible against the stone. It looked almost red in the firelight. Kouji eyed his troch before grinding the lit end into the floor, sending sparks and embers flying as he tried to smother the flames. Daisuke didn't appreciate this very much, and Kouji had to hide a satisfied smirk as the boy was sent dancing to avoid the sparks, "Hey! Watch where you throw the fire! What are you doing?"

"I don't plan on shimmying down that with a lit torch in my hands." It was obvious. Fire plus possibly flammable material was not a good idea. Now there was only Taichi's torch remaining. Ken had taken point, and Taichi had taken the rear. They hadn't needed more than that. The dark was more oppressive now; Taichi's torch seemed a weak barrier against it.

"Wise." Ken stood by the top of the ladder, watching Wormmon as he began to create the pit wide nets that would serve to cushion Anyamon's jump. Since he wasn't a spider, Wormmon's webs did not resemble picturesque, neat spiderwebs. They were just strings of webbing overlaid one on top of each other, but, it should hold well enough. "Taichi, you will have to do the same, but I would suggest waiting until we've all gone down. If Agumon follows Kouji we can relight his torch once we reach the bottom."

And the plan was decided. Kouji was the first down the ladder. Like its name, it _was_ sticky. It took far more effort than it should have to tear his hands off the rungs, but he was grateful for the support once he'd moved out of range of Taichi's torch and had to make his way by touch rather than sight. He could hear the sound of dripping water over his own breath and beating heart, but he could see nothing. If he craned his neck, Taichi's torch was a spot above, but around him was nothing. The ladder before him was a barely discernible silhouette that shook with each movement of the others above him.

He didn't like the dark.

After what seemed like forever, he felt water seeping into his shoes as he searched for the next rung of the ladder. Now the question was how deep was it? Hesitantly he moved, searching, searching for solid stone beneath his completely soaked feet—THERE!

With a relief, Kouji tore himself off the ladder, staggering to his feet in the cold water. It came up to his knees, but he'd managed to keep the torch dry, so that was a plus. There was a loud sploosh of something hitting the water beside him, kicking up small waves that lapped away at the rapidly shrinking dry spots on his clothes.

There were bubbles, and then an uncomfortable groan as Agumon pushed himself out of the water where he'd fallen. Kouji fumbled for the dinosaur digimon, helping him to his feet and passing the slightly damp wood into his claws. There was a sharp inhale, and then a quiet "_Baby Flame!" _before the area suddenly burst into life, the small fireball catching on to the dry end of the stick. Kouji looked up and up, seeing the line of children and digimon making their way carefully down the ladder. Taichi's flame was still going. He would keep it until Anyamon got down. They didn't want to test his eyesight in complete darkness.

And then it went out. It was agonizing minutes before there was another splash, this one louder as Anyamon plunged from the lowest set of nets into the water below. Kouji scrambled toward his brother, leaving the torch in a bewildered Agumon's hands.

"Are you okay!?" He hissed, as quietly as he could as the now soaked digimon began to try and shake all the water out of thick black fur. A blot of green against black—Wormmon—clung to the cat's back. The bug-type digimon was carefully cutting the last strands of webbing that were clinging to Anyamon's fur, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Those pale gold eyes turned to him, reflecting the torches' pale glow, "I _never_ want to do that again."

x-x-x

Daisuke grumbled as he trudged along in soaked shoes. It had been bad enough when they'd first entered the cave—his socks had only gotten a little damp. Now. Now they were soaked all the way through to the sole, and he could literally hear them sloshing as he walked. Stupid water. Stupid cave. At least the water had only been at the bottom of the shaft, and the rest of the passage was dry. Not that it helped much. He was _cold_. Heck, most of his complaints were an attempt to hide the fact that his teeth would be chattering otherwise.

Even his normally cozy jacket failed him, it having gotten wet in the fall. Honestly, why would the Crest of Courage be in such a dark and clammy, _wet_ place anyway? He might not be Izzy or Ken, but he did happen to notice that the Crest of Courage generally had something to do with _fire_. Agumon, Flamedramon…really, it wasn't that hard to notice.

He jumped as something brushed passed him, turning to see Anyamon's inky black form stalking back to where Kouji was bringing up the rear of their group. That cat gave him the creeps. He hadn't seen a thing until the digimon touched him. Daisuke discretely rubbed his arms, turning the motion into an exaggerated hand motion as Veemon asked what was wrong. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong!" He laughed, "I was just…just…stretching my arms."

Veemon eyed him, before accepting the answer. Or accepting that the answer was all Daisuke was willing to give. He could never tell with Veemon. "You know." Daisuke spoke up, grabbing the attention of Ken and Taichi ahead of him, "Have either of you heard from the others? I wonder if they are having any better luck."

"It's been almost three hours." Ken added dubiously, checking the time on his D-3. "I would expect a token report by now, at least."

"Hold this so I can check." Taichi passed the torch to Daisuke, the whole group slowing to a stop as he pulled his D-Terminal out of his coat. Daisuke stretched to see if he could see over Taichi's shoulder, but it wasn't necessary. The older kid only shut it with a snap and shook his head, "No good. There's no signal down here."

"Well, that sucks."

They started walking again. Daisuke didn't really like walking. At least every other time he'd had to walk so much in the Digital World there had been something interesting to see. Down here it was just darkness and stone. Granted the rough stone walls of the tunnel behind the waterfall had given way to moss-covered grey brick, but it was still stone. The brick was heartening; it meant _someone_ had been down here at some point to carve it out.

Well, not necessarily. They'd seen some really weird stuff in the digital world. He wouldn't be surprised if things just spontaneously appeared fully built. It definitely looked old.

A beep sounded from behind him, echoing in the stone hall. Then it happened. Again. And again. And again. "Darn it Kouji, turn that thing off!" Daisuke whirled around to glare at the new guy—he was the only one behind him—and then just stared as he realized Kouji had his digivice out. A little green ball hovered above the glowing screen, a blinking yellow light pointing straight ahead.

"Wait a second." The kid's digivice had been _black._ Like all black and grey. Just like Ken's. Now that was definitely _not _black. "Your D-3 is blue now!"

Kouji gave him one of those infuriating looks, "It was always like this."

"No it wasn't! I saw it! It was _black. _Black and Grey! Like Ken's!_"_

"It was black and blue yesterday." Ken shrugged, more interested in the projection from the digivice, "I noticed your D-3 as different from ours. We don't have this type of function—it appears to be a sort of compass?"

"It's called a D-Scanner." Kouji was ignoring him in that way that meant he wanted him to know he was ignoring him. Daisuke was fuming. He _knew_ it had been different before they entered the Digital World. That meant something, he _knew _it. The Digivices didn't change—except for 'Kari and TS, but 'Kari was special and TJ was her tagalong. "We used them to track down…ancient digital artifacts."

"Strange it would activate here…We don't have signal…" Ken was muttering to himself again, "But if it's picking up something down here it must be nearby. The Crests might be on the same frequency—did these artifacts have something to with digivolution?"

Daisuke didn't miss the intentionally blank look that flashed across the new kid's face. Hah. '_Can't digivolve my foot.'_ He was definitely hiding something from them. "I believe so. They were being collected by evil digimon who wished to use their power."

"It is a shame we do not have the physical digimentals anymore. It might be an interesting experiment…" Ken shook his head, "Anyway, we might as well follow it."

Kouji was quickly kicked to the front of the pack, his weird magically glowing green orb pointing the way. Not that there was much of a way to point, Daisuke thought sourly, glaring at Kouji's back. Taichi had switched with the new kid and taken the second torch to the back of their group, leaving Daisuke alone to stew. Ken seemed to be becoming rather chummy with the new kid, in his reserved way anyway, in order to study the new digivice.

Why did the new kid get the fancy toy anyway? He ignored the logical part of his mind that pointed out that his own digivice was different from the original Chosen—he wanted an excuse to be mad at the new kid. He'd been all Hikari would talk about. About his Digimon, about Taichi's meeting him, about running into him in the park. Honestly, Daisuke didn't have much respect for a guy who lost his digimon like that. Akemon had looked terrible in the computer lab. Daisuke didn't buy the sob story Kouji had fed Hikari; no way was that beast of a cat "newly evolved and vulnerable". He would have worried it was another Wormmon all over again, neglected and abused, but he _knew_ Ken wouldn't allow that to happen.

Besides, it was bad enough that he had competition in TA; he didn't need the new kid winning his Hikari over with that damned cool attitude. It reminded him uncomfortably of Yamato, and he was well aware of how crazy his sister was for Takeru's brother. Girls apparently liked that sort of thing. He personally thought it was annoying.

Suddenly Kouji stopped, and Daisuke had to do a little jig to avoid running into the new kid. In the end he'd ended up beside him, staring down into yet another deep dark pit in the center of the passage. "Not _again_."

"It's coming from down there." Kouji reported, showing the blinking compass mark which had shifted to the bottom of the orb. Ken repeated that nifty stone trick he'd tried earlier, but try as they might they couldn't hear a resulting plop, splash, or even a thud. Not even when Ken found progressively larger stones to try and make a louder sound. After an indeterminable amount of time listening, Ken shook his head, rising from his kneeling place at the edge of the pit, "Nothing. It's too deep to hear. This one isn't blasted either, not like the earlier one."

"How can you tell?" Taichi had moved forward; bring his torch to add its meager light to the party. Daisuke was honestly surprised they hadn't burned to a crisp yet. He'd tried to gather more sticks, but Agumon had said the two would be enough. Maybe it was another weird Digital World thing. Ever burning sticks.

"It's smooth." Kouji was the one to reply, "The earlier had a lot of craggy and protruding rocks."

So like the waterfall earlier. Huh. "So now what?"

"We could throw a torch down? The light would show us something." Taichi's suggestion. Daisuke didn't like throwing one of their _two_ torches away, but he supposed they could always break the wood to make more. Especially if they were magic.

Ken shook his head, "If we didn't hear the large stone, I doubt the fire would survive the fall."

Movement from the corner of his eye had Daisuke shuddering. That blasted cat. How he could miss it in the full torchlight Daisuke had no idea. The only thing that had tipped him off had been the patch of green riding on Anyamon's back. Anyamon had offered to keep carrying Wormmon, after Ken's digimon had worn himself out spinning all those webs.

"Daisuke! Look at this!" Veemon was soon standing beside the other digimon, waving his clawed hand excitedly in their direction. Anyamon had crept around the pit, and Veemon had followed like the curious little bugger he was. The blue dragon digimon dug his claws into something on the wall and _pulled._ There was the screeching sound of metal against metal, and then a snap. To Daisuke's horror, the force of the release sent Veemon sprawling backwards, straight for the pit, "Veemon!"

"Sticky Net!" Wormmon's tired voice rang out, the sticky webbing darting outward toward the falling digimon. It stuck. Veemon's flight hesitated for a moment, before he continued plummeting, gripping onto the thing he'd ripped out of the wall tightly. Wormmon was yanked off of Anyamon's back by the force, and the cat lunged after the two instinctively, trying to bite at the flailing webbing Wormmon was trying to shoot everywhere. Teeth closed on the only string thick enough not to be cut immediately, but he was teetering precariously on the edge, the weight of the three digimon causing the cat's muscles to quiver with the strain. He was big, but not _that_ big.

The humans had enough time to take all this in during the first few moments, but none of them thought at all as they ran to Anyamon. Daisuke and Taichi tossed the torches to the ground, and all of them latched onto the black panther, doing their best to ground him. "Hold on!" Daisuke yelled at the cat, who—despite all their efforts—was starting to lean forward. Daisuke could hear Veemon yelling from waay too far down into the pit, but he couldn't understand a word of it

"Don't worry buddy!" He carelessly moved toward the edge, reaching for the sticky web that was stretched far too thin. He caught it, just ahead of Anyamon's fangs, "Guys! Help me pull them up!"

Taichi and Agumon immediately ran to help, but none of them reacted in time to Ken's warning. Daisuke felt his frantically beating heart sink into his stomach at the obnoxiously loud sound of splintering stone.

Then the ground moved, and he was _falling._

The sputtering light of the dying torches, left forgotten on the cold stone floor, sank into darkness.

**x-x-x**

A/N: It's a day late, but here it is-the first big step in a new direction. My writing has unfortunetly slowed down (I have to actually _work_ at work? No faaaair.) But I've still got...a chapter and an interlude left. Hopefully I can churn out another one before I run out. Anyway...

Investigation! Adventure! Woo. Hope you all enjoy the trip :)

Anyone know the answer to the title's question?


	8. Chapter 8 - Of Faith and Betrayal

**Chapter 8 **

**Of Faith and Betrayal: Dusk to Dawn**

"_Veeeeeemon! Digivooooolve!" _

Daisuke was yelling. Unfortunetly, his yelling was being blown back up by the speed of his falling, not down toward Veemon. Kouji clutched onto Anyamon's neck, trying to think of something, anything. Neither of his spirits could fly. The best bet he had was his hyper evolution, but that required the _other spirits_. Dammit.

He couldn't see _anything._ The other Chosen were just sounds on the wind. Rather loud panicky sounds, but nothing more. He couldn't tell where they were other than somewhere below him.

And then…there was light. Digicode snaked its way around Anyamon, surrounding them both. He got a brief glimpse of a slim body falling below them. Ken. The others had all run to the edge, and had thus been the first to fall. Then his view was blocked.

'_Slide Evolution!'_

_What was Kouichi doing?_ He didn't even think Lowemon would be able to survive a fall of this magnitude. The air was charged inside the cocoon of frenzied data, humming with energy. Kouji could see nothing but the blue and white particles. The energy thrummed around him, his D-Scanner began to beep wildly. The sheer amount of energy was calling to his own spirits, a call to battle to awaken old soldiers.

And then what had been fur hardened into cool metal, the cocoon bursting in a blinding flash of light in the darkness, before it was swallowed up.

He heard the whirring sound of jets, and their fall slowed. It clicked. _'KaiserLowemon!' _Kouichi's beast spirit had limited thruster capabilities, mainly for added boost to jumps or speed. But if you angle them the right way, you could use them to slow a descent! "You. Are a genius."

He was now seated comfortably on KaiserLowemon's back, hands grasping the metal of his black and gold mane. He wasn't sure that he'd been heard over the rush of the air, they were still falling, just not quite as fast, but KaiserLowemon made a rumbling noise, "Hold on. We are going to have to drop if I'm going to reach the others."

Kouji thought about telling him to stop, but it was only an instant. If the others hit the ground from that height, they would _die_. Even if it was water. He reaffirmed his grip. He couldn't see, but he felt safe enough, wedged in between the hard metal jutting out from KaiserLowemon's back.

Then the rush began. The sound of the thrusters died, and they dropped like a stone. It wouldn't be fast enough, but then Kouji heard the thrusters start again and they shot forward, down, down. He couldn't do anything but hold on. Hold on, and pray.

x-x-x

The next thing Kouichi was aware of was that he was indeed Kouichi again. The Warrior of Darkness jumped in surprise, before he realized that he couldn't _actually_ jump. He felt…light. Drifting. The world around him was dark, but he could _see._ He could see the impossibility of dark purple against black, swirling clouds in this place with no light. None save for the faint glow coming from himself.

He had seen this place before, and it was a place of nightmares. He'd been tossed deep, deep into his Spirit, to the point where he couldn't even perceive the outside world. Dark bits of digital code spun around him—that was the source of the glow—and Kouichi had to stop himself from panicking, expecting at any moment to see Duskmon appear from that wasteland of black and purple.

He forced himself to keep calm. Was he dead? Last time he'd been in this place aside from his nightmares was shortly after they'd saved the Digital World, in those agonizing moments when his soul was left bodiless, Lowemon had deserted him and with him the anchor Kouichi'd had on the Digital World.

This shouldn't be possible. He _wasn't_ a dying teenager, who's soul had been pulled into the Digital World by Cherubimon's machinations. He'd crossed the gate for real this time, body and soul, like the others.

He wasn't alone either. Looming in the darkness around him were the comfortable presences of his Spirits. Lowemon's statue rested to his right, KaiserLowemon to his left. They were still here. Relief washed through him suddenly, startling him with its intensity.

But if they were here, then why was he? They'd been falling, he remembered, and he'd evolved. He hadn't been thinking, hadn't even thought about Kaiser Lowemon's jumpjets, but he'd known that he couldn't let the others down, not so long as he could _try_. Then…it had just happened. He'd known exactly what to do. A small push toward the wall, line up a dive, and then jump. He'd been close enough to Ken to reach out a metal paw, _sure_ that he could at least save this one, when there'd been an explosion of red light…

A red light that was growing again. It melted out of the darkness, nearly blinding him as a symbol etched itself into the empty space before him. Fiery red-orange lines formed a sun relief in the air, which slowly began to rotate, throwing sparks as it did so.

'_You, who risked your secret to save another…have the courage to face that which you fear.'_

And then the light died. Swallowed by roiling clouds of Darkness. Kouichi felt a shiver run through his body, and he was overwhelmed by a yawning pit of dread. He knew what he feared. He also knew that it would be _impossible_ for it to happen. The corruption had been removed, and Lowemon had been born. There was _nothing _left of Duskmon. Nothing.

He glanced toward Lowemon's spirit relief, only to stop dead. Five red eyes stared back at him, hovering above them all were two black dragon skulls, grinning at him.

_Nonononono…_ He whirled around, afraid of what he would find on his left. His dread became real in red and black feathers as he watched KaiserLowemon twist and warp into Velgmon. The empty eye sockets glared down at him, hatefully.

_Please no…_

"_Slide evolution…"_ The words echoed. That was KaiserLowemon. Kouichi reached for it, trying to grasp on to the warm comforting darkness, trying to grab on to the purity, even as corruption was eating through it. He tried to cancel the evolution—_anything_.

The code surrounding him began to whirl; gone was the benign blue and white of an active digivolution. It was an angry black and red, spiraling around and around as it sought to engulf him in a cocoon that would warp and shape his soul even as he saw it happen to KaiserLowemon's statue. He sought to struggle, but he couldn't move. He couldn't see anything in the chaotic mass. His limbs were trapped, cold armor—he knew it was darkened _bone—_coalescing out of the whirling data particles. He couldn't breathe as the mask settled over his face, blond hair streaming down around his face, falling free from the grotesque visage.

_No._

Suddenly he could _see_. It was overwhelming as seven more sets of eyes opened; seven new sources of input that he had no idea how to translate into a cohesive picture.

But Duskmon knew. Kouichi could feel the alien—but far too familiar and he hated that it _was —_chill settle into the cracks and spaces that KaiserLowemon had been. He shuddered, a wordless cry tearing free and echoing through the empty space. He pushed bone into his face, ignoring how the dragon fangs of his gauntlets dug into the exposed skin. He didn't want to see. The skulls may block _his eyes, _but the seven continued to stare, unrelenting against his desire.

'_We. Are. One.'_

And Duskmon came crashing down on him, smothering him, threatening to _consume_ him the way Cherubimon's corruption once had. But he wasn't the terrified dying teenager who would so easily succumb to evil's sweet lies. Not anymore.

He fought back with all his strength. His will. He would _not_ let Duskmon win. He didn't care about the mission. He didn't care about secrecy.

He needed to de-digivolve.

He needed to return to being human.

After that…he would think of something. He could have Kouji scan the spirits again, take them _away._ He would rather live crippled, unable to digivolve again.

He tried to release the spirit. To release the data. And he couldn't. Duskmon was laughing at him. He wasn't the one doing it, Kouichi knew. It was a shining golden lock, created from _holy_ power. Kouji was still human. He _couldn't_.

He battered against the lock, pushed at it. There wasn't a physical manifestation in this place, but he could feel it, nestled there in the digicode swirling around him.

And then he slowed. The dragon-skull gauntlets lowered slowly, the blood red blade slipping out of the fanged mouth. If he couldn't stop it by dedigivolving…

If he had to run those two blood red swords through his chest, he would, if it meant Duskmon would never again see the light of day.

And then one of his shoulder eyes caught movement in the dark. Black fur melted into sight, amber eyes glowing faintly in the overwhelming darkness. Not even Duskmon's superior vision could make out more than a silhouette of the shape—the other was of Darkness too, and could bend it to its will.

One of the dark dragon-skulls rose slowly, brandishing the twisted blood-red sword. Duskmon laughed his haunting laugh, plummeting down like a torrent to overwhelm the gasping remnant of Kouichi's consciousness. Everything was fading, and becoming clearer at the same time. There was no reason to fear Duskmon. He _WAS_ Duskmon. Cherubimon hadn't been evil, he had been just, destroying an unfit world and returning everything to darkness. He'd merely shown him the way. His brother was happy. Spoiled. Pampered, while Kouichi and his mother had to scrape away to earn a meager living. It wasn't right. He needed _revenge._

Fur brushed against his armor, and then there was something _else. _Distracted, Duskmon glanced down, red eyes meeting gold.

The world split, and then broke apart. And Kouichi was left falling again.

x-x-x

Cold. The stone was cold. Kouji's thoughts were sluggish. He felt like he'd been tossed through a washing machine, wrung inside out, and then tossed out to dry. He forced himself up, swaying, before stumbling, tripping over two extra feet. Scents were drifting toward him now, alien and familiar at the same time.

'_I'm Akemon again.' _He recognized in alarm. They were still in the digital world—why was he Akemon? He couldn't _feel _Akemon either. The presence he'd been made so plainly aware of was missing, huddled in the back of his mind in an exhausted pile. This change felt raw without that buffer—wrong.

A groan came from beside him, and Kouji sprang clumsily to his feet, tripping over ungainly puppy paws. It wasn't dark anymore. A soft orange light hung in the air, and by it Kouji could see his brother sprawled out on the stone floor behind him. Completely human. He stumbled toward him, falling in a pile at his side, "Kouichi." His voice sounded strange. He _knew_ it changed as a digimon, but this was the first time he'd noticed before. "Nii-san…"

That soft whine was completely him. He didn't even have the comfort of blaming his weakness on the digimon as he crawled under Kouichi's limp arm. He wasn't moving, but Kouji could feel the rise and fall of his breathing. He nudged his brother's face, "Nii-san…"

Kouichi groaned.

"I don't think…I want to…try that…again…" Kouichi muttered weakly, curling his arm around Kouji's much smaller form. He could feel the metal of his brother's D-Scanner against his back—it must have been in his hand.

Kouji didn't say anything, just basked in relief and warmth and didn't even think about pride or weakness or anything. They stayed that way for a few moments, lying on the stone floor, before his brother shakily pushed himself into a seated position.

"…you are fuzzy again."

The rather obvious comment brought Kouji back to himself and he leveled an annoyed glare up at Kouichi. His brother looked dazed, and likely didn't notice it at all. Pity. "What happened?"

"I don't…" Kouichi trailed off, stopping to think, "I can't—" He started to sound panicked, and started to shiver uncontrollably. He was holding on to Kouji uncomfortably tight, but he couldn't bring himself to try and wriggle out of the grip. After a couple moments the panic attack began to lessen, and Kouichi's breathing, while still ragged, began to calm, "I…Anyamon and I…we had to force the dedigivolution. It was…I was…Duskmon…again…"

Which had forced his own digivolution. Kouji didn't know how or where the corrupted Spirit of Darkness had turned up again, but he didn't want to push it. Even as he clamped down on the panic bells. The experience would still be raw.

But…they had to know. If something had corrupted the spirits again…

"We need to see them, Nii-san."

Kouichi shuddered, but began to uncurl. His D-Scanner fell out of his limp hand to clatter noisily on the stone floor. He sat up, but ended up pulling his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth quietly. He made no move to touch the D-Scanner again.

Kouji forced himself to his feet, wobbling uncertainly on ungainly puppy paws. He kept himself from tripping—barely—and made it to the forlorn device. He swiped at the largest button, the screen flickering to life. The three sided square, with two circles in the center—the symbol of darkness—glowed purple momentarily on the screen before a projection shot up, the spirit reliefs flickered in the air before them.

Kouichi let out a choked sigh of relief to see the crouching armored lions hovering in the air. Kouji batted at the D-Scanner, sending it sliding across the stone toward his brother. Kouichi picked it up with a shaking hand, the projection blinking out at the contact.

"It wasn't real…" Kouji heard his brother mutter, more to himself than anything else. Kouji wasn't so sure. Whatever it had been, had been real enough to force Kouji to evolve. And whatever it was, had been painful enough to leave him feeling beaten up, and Akemon nowhere to be found.

Hesitantly, he felt for Akemon again, following that thread of exhaustion. Maybe the wolf digimon tried to fight the change?

'_Come here.' _He beckoned to that presence in his mind, the one he'd tried so hard to divorce himself from after he'd realized it was there. The response was exhausted wariness. He wondered, not for the first time, just how complete the presence was. Did Akemon realize that Kouji hadn't wanted him there? Did he realize how relieved he'd been to return to being human? How his pride had rejected any other influences on his thoughts and actions? How determined he was to hold on to that core that was _him_.

After a moment's hesitation, he tried again, '_Lean on me.' _

After a few moments, Kouji felt Akemon move forward. Hesitantly, he felt the digimon's weariness and strength settle around him. It was slow, light. It didn't even feel like it had yesterday when Akemon had been such a part of him that he could hardly tell it apart. It felt more like…Wolfmon. A second skin. It molded around him, forming a protective layer of familiarity between him and the strange form. Everything normalized, the rawness of the change swept away by the steady assurance that all was well. Four paws no longer felt clumsy. Alien scents settled into the familiar category of "recognizable humans" and digimon.

That little ball of exhaustion lingered in the back of his mind, but Kouji did not invite it closer. He didn't know how much of himself he was willing to give up. This was more like human-as-digimon. This was familiar. He could handle it.

"…what about the others?"

Akemon hadn't realized Kouichi was waiting for him to respond. He shook his head; the last lingering apprehension at what he'd just done fading as he focused on the problem at hand, "I can smell them. They can't be far."

The chamber was small, no bigger than the pit through which they had initially fallen. He craned his neck to check the ceiling—nothing. Just smooth stone. There was a single door on the far wall, through which the faint light was coming from. Now that he was listening, he could hear voices from the other side.

"…still think we should _look_ for them." –Taichi

"_We_ were all separated—how do we even start looking?" –Daisuke—"Besides, aren't we looking for this Crest doohickey? There's nothing here other than a pedestal and a bunch of funky drawings. Shouldn't we be worrying about that?"

"Obviously the pedestal once held something."—That was Ken—"By studying it and the drawings we can form a conclusion as to what it was. But we should find the others first. If they didn't pass the trial—there's no telling what happened to them."

Akemon heard Kouichi getting shakily to his feet. He heard them too. The two quickly crossed the chamber, moving through the door and into a wide, circular chamber. The three Chosen were standing near a raised alter at the center of the room, looking no worse for wear. Their digimon, on the other hand, were piled in a boneless heap—utterly exhausted. They'd dedigivolved—except for Agumon, and he looked about as bad as Akemon felt. Veemon—Chibimon now—seemed to be the only one with any energy. He was the first to spot them, and jumped up with a mere shadow of his earlier enthusiasm, "Akeeeeeeemon!

_That_ stopped the debate cold. Daisuke whirled around, arms crossed as he glared at them, "Where have you guys been!? We've been waiting for _ages._"

Akemon bit back a growl. The words were rough, but there was a sense of lightening in the chosen's face. Relief. He may not like them, but he didn't want them to be hurt. Akemon could respect that. Besides, it's not like he could do much when he was tackled by a blue dragon half his size, sending the two of them tumbling in a blue and white ball. Akemon ended up on his back, Chibimon bouncing up and down on his chest, "You're okay! You're okay! We were all so worried, and Daisuke said we couldn't wait any longer, and then you appeared out of a wall and where've you been?"

"A wall?" He shoved Chibimon off of him—although it was a half-hearted one, it sent the smaller digimon tumbling. He shot a glance at where they'd come from only to now find a smooth wall. "There was a room…"

"We all ended up in our own rooms! Of course Daisuke and I came out first—"

"Nu'uh. Taichi and I did." Agumon grumbled in protest. He didn't look as tired as the others—maybe because he hadn't been forced to dedigivolve? He sat leaning against the alter, an exhausted Minomon cradled in his clawed arms. "Then you, Chibimon."

"Anyway." Chibimon didn't even miss a breath, "Then Ken and Minomon—and I thought he was tired as Wormmon. He can barely _move_. I tried to wake him up, but Agumon glared at me and—"

"I get it, I get it." Akemon was feeling light headed from the constant rush. He picked himself up off the floor, just in time from Chibimon to hop onto his back and flop down, "I'm tired."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be jumping around so much?" Akemon rolled his eyes, but didn't shake the smaller digimon off. Instead he trudged back towards the group; Kouichi had joined the other chosen. He wondered what the others had thought about Kouichi's changed appearance, but they seemed to have worked it out—he'd been too swamped by hurricane Chibimon to listen in. He started listening now, unsurprised to have Daisuke explaining what they'd figured out so far—

"—that plaque Veemon pulled off? It said _faith_. We were supposed to demonstrate our courage and make a leap of _faith. _How stupid is that? If only he'd read the darned thing we probably could have avoided the thoughts of impending death that probably shaved _years_ off my life."

"Hey, you think I can read your fancy symbols?" Chibimon complained, flailing so hard in his protest that he nearly dislodged himself, "I just wanted to show ya! I didn't expect the thing to come flying out like that."

"Yeah, well, you scared me half to death. Don't you dare to that again, okay?" Daisuke plucked Chibimon off of Akemon and set him down on top of the pedestal, "Anyway, impending doom, yadayada. Eventually I got surrounded by red light and the digimental of courage was summoned. It's still here!" He quickly reassured after seeing Taichi's alarmed look, he pulled out something from his bulging jacket pocket. It was a flame patterned…egg? With a spike jutting out of it? Bizarre. "But the Digimental was what let me in."

"My digivice glowed." Taichi removed his weird shaped digivice, and Akemon noticed it was now orange—the same color as the Crest and the light that permeated this room.—it had been white before, "And then it let Agumon and I down in one of those siderooms."

"You two are the Chosen of Courage." Ken said simply. He looked down at his clothes, and Akemon realized _why_ they didn't wonder about Kouichi's change. "I, was not so fortunate."

He didn't elaborate. None of the others asked him to. Ken was wearing a strange blue and white outfit, with gold shoulder guards and a weird split cape. His hair was a spiked mess, and he had a pair of yellow glasses in his hands. His hands were shivering, gripping the glasses so hard Akemon wondered that they didn't break.

"They forced us to face our fears." Kouichi muttered. That made more sense, Kouji realized. Duskmon was what Kouichi feared most. And if that were what happened, then what had been his fear? He didn't remember _anything_ between falling from KaiserLowemon's back and waking up. What did he have to face? And why couldn't he recall it?

"How come Ken had to face his personal boogey man while you—" Daisuke cut it off when a surprisingly venomous glare from Ken stopped him. "Just don't, Daisuke."

"Fine, fine." The goggle-head muttered, "Anyway, we found everybody—Funky Drawings, empty alter, no crest, go ahead—Detect!"

x-x-x

Daisuke lurked near the edge of the room, sulking as those smarter than he set to work on figuring out where the heck they were. He was useless here. He didn't understand the digital runes like Ken did—although he claimed it was getting harder to read them as time passed—they just all looked like pictures. He didn't even have the experience that Taichi had, which had led him to recognizing a specific section of the funky drawings on the wall, claiming that it was talking about some "Apocalymon" or something like that. Taichi was complaining loudly about Hikari not being here since she could have taken pictures.

Daisuke wished Hikari was here too. Especially when he remembered the short fall into the water. Imagining Hikari with a wet shirt…hmm…that cheered him up quite a bit, even as he could feel his face heating up. With a cough he turned toward the wall, pretending to be looking for meaning in the rubbish squiggles. He didn't need anyone seeing his red face.

The walls were interesting; he had to give them that. There were plenty of pictures along with the incomprehensible runes. Here and there was a rough depiction of a crest, he thought that one there might be a dude in one of Gennai's robes if he squinted carefully enough.

He wondered if there was anything on the Digimentals in here. This whole Crest gig? Not really his area of expertise. The Digimentals, however…those he was familiar with. He patted the pocket of his jacket fondly, before hissing in pain as the spike jabbed into his hand through the fabric. Really, that thing wasn't safe to handle—he was so glad the D-Terminals were able to store them.

Wait. If the D-Terminal's purpose was to store the Digimentals, then why hadn't the egg returned to its normal state after whatever that test had been completed?

He carefully—he really didn't want to stab himself again—removed the digimental from his pocket. There had to be some reason this thing hadn't just returned to his D-Terminal yet. He stared at it, and then stared around the room, looking for a slot, maybe the spike was actually some sort of _key…_

His eyes stopped on the alter. It was plain stone, smack dab in the center of the room. He'd pulled the Digimental from a pedestal like that—had it really been only a few months ago? It seemed like _forever _since school had started—although the one back then had a circle drilled into it where Veemon had been kept asleep…

Without realizing it Daisuke soon found himself having crossed the radius of the room, and was staring down at the stone, the digimental still in his hand. There was a noticeable difference in temperature between here and the wall. It had been cooler when Daisuke had pulled it out, but now he could distinctly feel the heat against his skin.

"Talk about getting warmer." Daisuke muttered to himself, drawing a distracted glance from Ken, who was the closest. It was so weird seeing Ken in that get-up again. It sent his mind back into some pretty bad memories, most vividly the time where Ke—no, the Digimon Kaiser—had made him grovel and beg for the lives of his friends. Of course, he hadn't known they were just Bakemon at the time.

'_You know, for all the times the Kaiser said he'd destroy us, he never would have harmed us.'_ Daisuke realized with a pleased jolt. Enslave their digimon? Sure. Take their D-3s and ban them from the Digital World? Sure. But the one time he'd had them all at his mercy, the Digimon Kaiser had resorted to mind games rather than actually harm one of the kids.

Not that it hadn't been a low blow, but still.

Anyway, if the restoration of his old duds bothered Daisuke this much, he hated to imagine what was going through Ken's mind. The destruction of his delusions and the realization of what he'd actually done had torn the genius to bits, and Daisuke knew some wounds took far more than a few paltry months to heal.

They needed to get out of here, and get out of here soon.

He turned his attention back to his little puzzle at hand, the digimental was getting uncomfortable to hold on to, but he didn't put it back into his pocket. For one, he didn't put it past the thing to set his jacket on fire with the way it was right now.

This stone pedestal didn't have the carved hole Veemon's had. It merely had a circular depression. It looked like it should be holding something. That's what he'd assumed before. Maybe the pedestal had been holding the Crest Thingy, and now it was gone. But that didn't seem right.

Now. Now he wondered if maybe he should _put_ something on it.

Maybe a specific digimental that was currently trying to burn his hand off.

With a faint hiss at the pain, Daisuke deposited the spiked orb into the depression, jumping backwards as the room began to rumble.

Something began to beep, wildly.

"What's going on?" Taichi shouted, using one hand to steady himself against the wall and the other to grab his digivice. It was the digivice that was beeping shrilly, the screen glowing like crazy, "It's like—ultimate—but I don't have the crest!"

Daisuke quickly grabbed Chibimon and Minomon—who had long since fallen asleep near the pedestal. Agumon was too big, but he shoved him awake with a "Move!"—and ducked out of the way as a beam of concentrated light shot from Taichi's shaking digivice. It collided with the digimental, causing it to glow with a fierce white light.

Then it _shattered_. The digimental flew apart into bytes of data which hovered in a cloud above where it had been placed. The sparkling data bytes caused the light passing through it to spread, illuminating a rectangular spot along the far wall with its glow.

The light faded, and with it went the wall. Where the radiance had touched, the wall just seemed to…fade, leaving a dark opening. The data from the digimental hung in the air for a moment, before it streamed toward Daisuke. He quickly shifted Chibimon to his other arm and pulled out his D-Terminal. The data zipped toward the small silver machine before settling as the pixilated egg Daisuke was used to seeing.

The glow on Taichi's digivice died, and the orange coloring was gone. Once again it sat, white and innocent. Daisuke shared a look with Taichi, who shrugged, "Izzy's the one to question it—not me."

Fair enough.

"It seems that was a keyhole." Ken was the one who spoke. The dark-haired boy was picking himself up off the ground. Daisuke rushed over first to help him up, and then return Minomon to Ken's shaking arms. The Chosen of Kindness had taken a dive when the room had started shaking, and it left his cape and shoulder armor all skewed. It looked rather silly, but Ken flinched away when Daisuke tried to fix it. "It's fine." He muttered, before stalking across the room toward the open wall, "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

x-x-x

"I suppose even idiots are right every now and then." Akemon muttered as they made their way down the hall. Kouichi shot him a curious look, but Akemon shook his head. If he was going to talk loud enough for Kouichi to hear, then everyone else would too. Unless he let Kouichi carry him again, and there was only so much indignity he could take, especially given the feud between him and Daisuke.

It was fine when they were alone. It was fine when it was necessary. But Akemon would be damned if he let Daisuke of all people see him man-handled like that. Not that Daisuke would know that it was him, but that was beside the point.

The other digimon didn't have any reservations about being carried. Minomon was conked out in the crook of Ken's arm, half tucked into that cloak of his. As much as the other boy seemed to dislike the outfit, he didn't hesitate to use it for the comfort of his digimon. Chibimon was riding on Daisuke's head, dozing, although every now and then he would add something to the conversation.

Not that there was much.

"I thought we were done with the Doom and Gloom." Taichi was the one to joke, although his voice sounded a bit shaky. They'd lost their torches, and this hall was as dark as the earlier ones, "We passed the Trials, you'd think we would have found our treasure room by now."

"I think we may have." Kouichi was the one to speak, pushing out ahead when the tunnel suddenly ended. "Agumon, could you manage a fireball?"

The dinosaur digimon sucked in a breath, aiming as everyone between him and Kouichi scrambled out of the way. The Warrior of Darkness stood there, staring out into the gloom—could he see?—but as the fireball flew passed him it illuminated a large cavern. It exploded against the far wall, setting the moss alight for a few short minutes.

Those few minutes were all they needed. The room was trashed. Fallen stone, clawed up machinery, and broken glass glittered in the firelight.

"But how would they have gotten in!? There was no sign of any destruction passed the first drop, and _I _had the digimental." Daisuke was baffled, "There's no other entrance to this room—right? Right?"

Not that they could see. It wasn't a very large room—smaller than the circular one they'd just been in. Scrapped machinery lined the walls, and large, three clawed marks slashed right through the relief of the crest of courage that had been carved into the wall. Ken ended up studying what had once been a glass tube that ran from floor to ceiling—the entire thing was _shattered_.

"There's _always_ another way in." Kouichi said quietly, staring out at the destruction as the others rushed forward in alarm. Akemon hung back, sticking to his brother's side. "Nii-san?"

"The darkness…it's strong here…" More fires were going up, Agumon setting more and more patches of moss alight, revealing more details. The Warrior of Darkness shook his head, suddenly shivered, and rubbed his arms as if to stave off a chill. He looked down at Akemon, giving him a weak smile, "Don't mind me."

But Kouji did mind him. He minded him because the entire place made him feel on edge. There was an oppressive feel here, and if Kouichi said it was darkness, Kouji believed him.

x-x-x

A/N: Aaaand the search for the Crest of Courage comes to an end. And this is the last full chapter I have completed. There is a set of 3 interludes after this chapter-would ya'll prefer an interlude every two days or so, or all in one chapter next Wedsnesday? I'm leaning toward separating them out, but if ya'll prefer the all-in-one I'll go ahead and do that.

I had a lot of fun with this chapter. IT definitely mutated since my initial draft. The whole thing with Duskmon just kinda appeared during an edit. And Daisuke being the one to figure out the key? I was surprised as well.

Hope ya'll enjoyed it. Next week will be a set of interludes, one of which includes Gennai explaining why the search for the crest of courage was waaay more complicated and longer than the actual finding of the crest was in the anime. After that...well, I'll talk about it when we get there.

Now I need to get back to working on the next chapter. I know what I'm doing-I just need to write it.


	9. First Generation Interlude

**A First Gen Interlude – The Trials of Love**

"I do wish you'd brought pictures." Gennai grumbled after Taichi and Izzy had finished telling their stories, "To have been able to _see_ the Sanctums! Only the highest of my Order had the privilege of working with those machines!"

Gennai was pacing in his sitting room, the three representatives of the First Chosen in chairs nearby. They'd sent the younger kids home—Ken had looked downright ill, and Iori had been nearly dead on his feet. Sora shook her head. They were just kids. It had been a long day. Too long. Sora had expected to have to rush home after finally making their way out of Datamon's Pyramid, only to find that what had seemed like at _least _four hours had only been two, so they were able to get the younger ones home before interrogations would be a problem.

The elders—having more of a…relaxed curfew, especially since their parents knew about Digimon—decided to drop in on Gennai. They could leave the Digital World at will with their original digivices. The robed man had been both anticipating and dreading their visit, and had been probing every little detail he could. Apparently his Order—the same ones who, years before, Sora had seen running around in a hidden lab, where their digieggs, digivices, and tags had almost been stolen—also had something to do with these…happenings.

As she listened to first Taichi's, and then Izzy's stories, she felt her heart sinking. Sora felt…like she'd failed. The others had all managed to find this Inner Sanctum or whatever Gennai was talking about, but she…she hadn't been able to. She'd let them down.

"Sora?" It was Taichi who put a hand on her shoulder, "You alright?"

Izzy was describing the runes in excited detail, and how he'd found the ones for Digimental on the platform, which had led to experiments to try and produce the Digimental of Knowledge. Daisuke's had been the only one to manifest on its own, having been a part of the Trial. The Sanctum of Knowledge had been guarded by quite a few puzzles and riddles, which Izzy and Iori had taken care of easily. She…she'd never found hers. They'd wandered that pyramid. Searching. They'd found the lab where Datamon had…Cloned her…And it stood to reason that he would have had to find the Crest there, since he'd been forbidden to leave that place…

But there was nothing. Nothing but dust and disappointment.

"I'm fine." She answered Taichi's worried expression, forcing a smile to her face, "I was just…We couldn't find it."

"Did you ever think—" Izzy cut in suddenly, "That _maybe_ you already did?"

Both of the other Chosen looked at him oddly. The redhead beamed, "I figured it out after we found the Sanctum of Knowledge. Datamon's lab? _That_ was the entry way. Taichi defeated the Trials of Love when he crossed all those firewalls to get to you. To save you. He demonstrated his love for you sufficiently to disarm the trap, although at the time we didn't have the key required to go further."

Suddenly Izzy noticed Sora's reddening face, and Taichi's murderous glare. He backpeddled, "As a friend, of course. One can love a friend as much, if not more than a romantic partner. Anyway," Having adequately avoided an untimely demise, Izzy went on, "All we need to do to test the hypothesis is to have both you and Miyako check it out some other time, although I'd assume we'd find the same scene before too long. Gennai said our mysterious mega-level digimon was first seen in the Koromon village a week or two ago, and Taichi said he managed to bypass all the traps somehow. It goes to reason he wouldn't take too long to find the others, especially since most are within a week or two walk of each other."

"Indeed." The elder man interjected, "The fact that they had to complete the Trials of Courage meant that he hadn't gotten in the traditional way. The traps are released once the Chosen of that specific Crest completes them, otherwise they persist. Those of my order created to oversee the maintenance of the Sanctums never left once the way was sealed. I do not know how someone could have gotten there first."

"Kouji said something weird." Taichi had his face screwed up, trying to remember, "When we first found it. He said…the darkness was strong. And there was always another way in. I thought he was making a jab at Daisuke—those two weren't getting along at all, but he said it just as Agumon lit the place up."

"Did he now…?" Gennai's tone was thoughtful. "Send him with Hikari, when you find the Crest of Light."

"We don't even know where that crest _is_." Taichi retorted, "And what do you mean, send him with 'Kari? What's so special about this kid, Gennai?"

"Hope you never have to find out." The older man didn't elaborate further, and Sora could plainly see the frustration on _Izzy's_ face as well. She'd missed something, she knew it. "As to where the Crest is…I'd ask Tailmon. Vamdemon was the one to find it, and short of hunting down his remaining minions, she is the only link to him we have. Most of them have been reconfigured already, and memory loss is common in that process. Especially for older digimon."

"Why don't you just tell us, Gennai? It would be so much simpler than…" Izzy waved his hand vaguely, "All this. We found our crests so _easy _last time. You didn't mention the Sanctums. Or warn us of the Trials, or even what to look for really. If we wanted a favorable outcome, then wouldn't it be logical to give up all the information you could?"

Gennai stopped pacing, his hands folded in the long sleeves of his robe. He stood quietly before the fire, "You should know by now that the Digital World is never as it seems. You found the Crests because you needed them. The Sanctums were never meant to be found." He said at length, "They are the source of the power. They are the building blocks of evolution. They are _sacred._"

Gennai took a breath, turning back to the Chosen, "Much as it may surprise you, Izzy, I don't _know _everything. I was very low in my order—one among many. We were the moderators of this world, and all that's left now is our stored databanks, and what networks I was able to salvage. I don't _know_ what to look for, until something happens—and even if I know _what, _it takes time since there is a lot of data to search through."

Surprising herself, Sora rose to her feet, "Well, I for one think you are doing a great job, Gennai."

She meant every word of it. She'd always known that there wasn't anything else in this world quite like Gennai—who had been their guide, their mentor, and guardian all at once—but to think that he himself was so terribly alone? He'd always managed to keep a cheerful face, a bad joke, or a word of wisdom or advice in trying times.

"I'm glad you think so, Sora." The man returned her smile, "At least with Qinglongmon released I've got some help. That old rascal might be infuriating with his puns and riddles, but he's doing his best to find some intel on our unknown. He doesn't show up on our usual network."

"Just keep us posted—we'll do the best we can." She turned to Izzy and Taichi, "We need to figure out a way to get word to Jou and Mimi. We won't be able to open the doors without them. And Hikari was telling me that she, Daisuke, and Takeru have a big test Friday, so we should probably wait for the weekend for them... If we can get a hold of Mimi or Jou then we can take care of the other two during the week but…" Sora trailed off. That still left her own. Love. Maybe Miyako would be willing to check it out quickly tomorrow. If Izzy was right, then it wouldn't be too much trouble. The traps were already sprung. They'd just need to open the door.

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry about it." Taichi slung an arm over her shoulder—a completely platonic gesture, she knew. He was just Taichi. That was how he was. But Izzy's words earlier suddenly surfaced in her mind, and she felt herself fighting off a blush again. "Anyway, we should be heading home. See ya later Gennai."

x-x-x

"Hey, Sora?" Taichi called after her as she started down the stairs from Izzy's apartment. He wasn't quite sure he knew what exactly he wanted to say, and thus was caught off guard and flustered when she stopped and turned. "I—uh—just wanted to say—about earlier…"

Then she laughed and gave him that cute grin of hers—boy was he glad she didn't wear that hat anymore, her hair was cute with it pinned back—"There's nothing to say. Besides, you know you'll put a foot in your mouth anyway."

And then, to his surprise, she hugged him. It was a quick hug, but the warmth of her arms was so very real for those few moments. He was sure he was imagining things. He'd wanted to apologize for what Izzy had said earlier. He'd always had a bit of a crush on Sora—she was just too _awesome_ of a girl not to—but after having seen her so flustered—

"Never change, Taichi." With those words she was letting him go. He watched her in a daze as she moved down the hall, remembering when he'd first seen her in the high school uniform, the first time he'd _ever_ seen her in a skirt. He felt his face reddening, growing warm and uncomfortable.

Deliberately he turned back inside, forcing the thoughts away. She was a very good friend. And that was that. They'd been through a lot together…that was all.

"Oh hey. How'd it go?" Izzy didn't even turn away from his computer when Taichi returned to his room. He snagged one of the plastic chairs and sank into it, muttering, "She told me not to put a foot in my mouth."

Izzy laughed, which had Taichi glaring at him. Didn't he understand how he felt about this?

Well. Scratch that. Izzy probably didn't. The full-time high school, part-time university student never seemed to notice that he was on the wishlist of nearly every computer savvy girl in school, and perhaps even some of the more materialistic ones too. Everyone knew that Izumi Koushiro was going to be a _very_ well paid programmer one day. Probably for Google.

"Anyway, I've finished scanning your digivice. Why didn't you say you found some new digimon?"

Izzy undocked the Taichi's digivice as he said it, tossing the small device in the vague direction of his guest's chairs. Izzy had horrible aim, so it left Taichi scrambling to catch it and he didn't really think too much on the question until he had his digivice safely in his hands, almost falling off the chair with how far he'd had to reach. "We didn't? The only digimon we ran into were the Koromon, Kunimon, and a Flymon. We've seen them all before."

"That is odd. Your digivice is registering two previously unscanned digimon." Izzy frowned, tapping a couple keystrokes into the computer. Taichi felt a distinct sense of déjà vu as he pulled the chair toward the desk—hadn't they been in this situation yesterday? "The digivice's scanning capabilities are an area of effect, but it isn't large enough that you wouldn't have seen it…"

The computer beeped cheerfully as the data was fully configured and uploaded, two windows popping up on the otherwise empty screen. The first was…a robotic lion? Its armor was all black, with red gems scattered amongst golden accents. There were guns mounted on its shoulders. He _knew_ he wouldn't have missed something like _that_.

"It's another Null Digimon." Izzy muttered; using the term he'd coined to refer to the digimon not found in his database. Taichi admitted that it was easier to say than 'digimon that should not exist.' "KaiserLowemon. I'm starting to wonder if "Variable" type just means "Unknown"…oh. There actually is a description."

Taichi leaned over to read it. Yesterday that field had been empty save for the 'Data not found message.' This one was still much shorter than they were used to, only a few characters long. But those few characters had Izzy and Taichi sharing worried looks.

'_Beast Warrior of Darkness.'_

Without any words, Izzy switched to the second screen. This one was humanoid. Duskmon, the characters read. It was a far more intimidating digimon, looking like it belonged in Vamdemon or Piedmon's armies. He had black and red armor, with eyes _everywhere_. On his chest. On his shoulders. Knees. Feet. His hands were the dark skulls of dragons. Taichi shuddered and tore his eyes away from the image, looking over the stats. Where all the other Null Digimon had read "Variable type", there were just a string of random characters, like the kind that resulted from corrupted data. It also had a short description.

"Warrior of Darkness—how could you _miss _these Taichi?" Izzy sounded stunned, "They must be at _least_ champion level. You said Kouji mentioned strong darkness—do you think they could have been it?"

"I don't know. But _anything_ of Darkness doesn't sound good." Taichi said grimly, wracking his mind for _anywhere_ they could have encountered these rather unforgettable digimon. There was only one possibility. The eternity of moments when they'd been falling through the Pit, before his Digivice had activated. They'd been in complete darkness, except for two flashes of blinding light, but he'd thought those had been from the Trial of Courage activating… "They could have been in the pit. Or in the room before we were. Or even following behind us. We didn't see anything like that. Afterwards we were in a little fight with some Kunimon. The lion…we lost sight of Anyamon during a battle, but I didn't see Kouji's digivice activate. I don't think it was him."

"Warriors of Darkness…" Izzy muttered, "Do you think they could be related to our Sanctum wreaking target? Underlings maybe? You said the Koromon reported _gold_ light from our Mega-digimon. It might have come from the lion, Digimon generally follow predictable color patterns."

"They'd have to be. They are darkness. Darkness is always evil." He remembered Devimon. Vamdemon. Piedmon. Apocalymon. Suddenly Izzy's head shot up from where it had been resting pensively on his hand. "Hey Taichi, do you remember the time Gennai called us back to the Digital World? When we had to give up our Crests up to keep the forces of Darkness at bay? If these Sanctums are the source of our Crest's power, and they were destroyed, then what would happen to the barrier keeping the world safe?"

Neither of them liked to think about that.

x-x-x

A/N: Here's the first of three interludes! They are actually plot related (mostly) so it would be a bad idea to skip them. They were just too short to be individual chapters with the way I've been going with this fic, and didn't really chain together too well. I'll post the Gen 2 Interlude on Wednesday, and then Gen 4 on Friday—How's that sound? Hope you guys like it!


	10. Second Generation Interlude

**A Second Generation Interlude**

"_Just because you say you are sorry doesn't erase everything you've done!"_

"_Wormmon would never come back for you! Not after the way you treated him!"_

"_Digimon Kaiser! Digimon Kaiser!"_

"_Ken-!"_

Ken jerked awake, his heart racing, his breathing ragged. His hair was mussed from sleep and fell in front of his face, obscuring his vision in a way that reminded him all too much of the spiked hairstyle he'd sworn to leave behind him. He shook his head wildly, brushing the hairs out of his eyes and attempting to smooth them down and away. His room was dark, the only light being a faint glow from the digits of his alarm clock, blinking minutely as the digit changed from 3:56 to 3:57. It was just a dream.

He could hear Minomon complain sleepily from where the digimon was nestled into a nest of blankets, he could faintly hear the rumble of the occasional car out on the street. But otherwise it was silent apart from his thudding heart and gasping breaths. He wasn't the Kaiser anymore—regardless of what happened earlier today.

'_Have the courage to accept the dark parts of yourself…"_

The words without words drifted out of his memory, and they made him flinch. He could remember the weight of the armor. The weight of the cape. The hard edges of the runed glasses in his hands. He remembered seeing that vision of himself, standing before him in a field of grey, one gloved hand stretched out.

"_I am your self-confidence. I am your ambition. I am the drive to do whatever it takes, no matter what."_ And then he shot Ken that crooked grin, the one that haunted his nightmares, "_Without me you are nothing, _Kenny-boy._"_

In that place, out of time, out of place, Ken had taken that hand. It made sense. He was…empty. His school work suffered. His parents noticed his self-esteem problems, and often pushed him to try and make new friends. His dad had pulled him aside today, when he and Kouji had been heading for school, just to tell him that he hoped they were getting along well.

_But we aren't friends._

None of the others were. Daisuke…maybe. Maybe Daisuke was his friend. Maybe the others were too. But until he could trust himself, it was a maybe. Always a maybe.

So he'd taken the hand, and the weight and the burden of guilt came crashing back down on him, just as the armor had materialized on his shoulders. He was glad it hadn't persisted, that it had all vanished once they found the portal out of the Sanctum of Courage. He couldn't tell the others. He couldn't tell them he'd been cowardly enough to even touch that evil again.

The Trial had called it courage. Ken called it weakness. He refused to be anything like that again. He'd been forced to walk as the Digimon Kaiser again, for that brief period of time, and Ken loathed every moment of it. He had seen the shock and distrust in Daisuke's eyes when Ken had walked out of the room. Daisuke. The one who had stood by him. The one who had been his advocate, who had battered down the walls of resentment and trust the other Chosen—and Ken himself—had thrown up between them.

It had been Minomon—sleeping like a log in Ken's arms—which had convinced Daisuke that he hadn't reverted. He hadn't known how to explain until they'd figured out it was a trial of some kind, and Ken's penance was to relive his evil, to bear the weight of his guilt once more.

Maybe he'd been getting complacent. Maybe he'd been forgetting. He wasn't done with his atonement—no matter that the other Chosen trusted him. As long as he'd be tempted to take that hand…to even touch that darkness again…

Ken rolled away from the rest of the room, from the glowing digits that were slowly ticking toward morning. And then he froze.

Sitting on the pillow beside him was a pair of golden glasses.

Minomon woke with a start to the crack of breaking glass and snapping plastic. The insect digimon blearily rolled around in his blanket cocoon, eyes peeking out, "You 'kay, Ken?"

"It's nothing. Go back to sleep." He didn't know where he found them, but Ken managed the reassuring words, even as his hand throbbed where the glass had dug in, even as blood welled from the cuts he staunched quickly with his pajama shirt.

"M'kay…" Minomon settled again, "G'night Ken…"

"Good night Minomon."

Ken waited; listening for his digimon's breathing to steady out. Then he eased out of the comforter, hand swabbed in the ruined wreck of his shirt to avoid staining anything else. Navigating the ladder was a little trickier with one hand, but with care and a slow pace he managed it without mishap. He could see the shards of glass hiding in the threads of the carpet, jagged points waiting for a chance to puncture unwary skin. Ken stared down at the shadowed remains of the frame, twisted and crushed by his desperate move.

"Never again."

x-x-x

A/N: Yes, this one is short. I wanted to look in on Ken's reaction to the Trial of Courage. I think this one is the least relevant to the plot—it's mostly a character-centered piece. Here's number 2 of the three interludes. What's the next one? If you guessed 4th Gen, you get an internet cookie. Ya'll are lucky. Extremely lucky. I expected to burn out of writing after this. But no, I'm up to chapter thirteen. WITH 3 more interludes :|

I feel I need the interludes. This fic has taken a rather dramatic turn. I'm not even to the abduction and I feel bad about what is going to happen in the next couple chapters. I'm almost…worried I might be pushing it a bit to be honest. I mean, I've seen _much_ worse in digimon fics but…I don't know. I'm pushing it for me, anyway.

I hope you guys don't mind a bunch of drama after the slow start. I guess it would make sense—rising action and all that.

I'll post the third interlude on Friday—See ya'll till then!


	11. Fourth Generation Interlude

**A Fourth Generation Interlude**

The window creaked open. Slowly. Deliberately. The boy on the bed stirred, but did not wake as Akemon slipped out the narrow opening. He glanced back once, his brother huddled on the bed—shivering, clutching his knees to his chest. Akemon knew what it was. Even as he knew he wouldn't be able to wake him from it.

It killed him that he couldn't help, but whatever happened during the Trials of Courage was something Kouichi had to deal with on his own. Besides. Kouichi's nightmare wasn't the only reason he was awake.

He could feel the night breeze threading lazy fingers through his fur, sending him shuddering even as he nudged the window shut. He just sat on the balcony, looking out over the city. The temperature was dropping. He could smell winter in the air. He didn't want to think about what else he could smell in the air. If he didn't think about it, Akemon could deal with it, shuffling it all into a general pile of "Human World" unpleasantness.

'_You—I deal with it. Together.'_

Kouji shivered as the steady peace he'd made with…the digimon wavered, remembering snippets from his dream.

'_Stronger together than apart.'_

It was hard to hear his thoughts being thrown back at him. How many times had he chafed at his inability to Spirit Evolve? How many times had he silently complained that he couldn't help? He bared his teeth at the memory, the buzzing of wings, the whoosh of wind. They'd all been exhausted after leaving the sanctum. The portal appeared to have triggered the swapping effect, leaving Kouji human, and Anyamon quietly brooding.

They'd been almost home. Almost to the Digital Gate. They could see the television that would let them home to rest and recover.

But cries for help from the Koromon villiage wouldn't let them. Wouldn't let them go. Chibimon and Minomon couldn't do anything. Agumon and Anyamon were the only option.

x-x-x

"_Baby Flame!" _Agumon's fireball scattered the Kunimon, the yellow caterpillar-esque digimon quickly backed away from the Koromon they'd been surrounding. Agumon jumped in front of the small group. A group of eight or so of the rookie digimon had decided to gang up on the group of in-training digimon who'd ventured out of the village to gather some food. "Hey, knock it off! Why are you doing this?"

"Cause they are scared!"

"Scared!"

"Weaklings."

"Weaklings don't deserve food."

"Weaklings _are_ food."

The group of insect digimon twittered, as much among themselves as it was in response to Agumon's question. Webbing shot toward the group from all directions, but a well-placed Baby Flame burned away a good portion of it. Anyamon tore at the remainder, wicked claws unsheathed and ready, moving in to guard the backside of the group, where two of the Kunimon had snuck around through the bushes for an ambush attack. They were wary to go near the larger cat, but that didn't stop them from tossing webbing his way. Strings of thick, sticky white were a stark contrast to the dark fur, laying loose and limp across his back,

"Since when do digimon think of other digimon as food?" Agumon shot back, "There's plenty of fruit in these woods for all of you!"

"The new one."

"The powerful one."

"He taught us."

"Of the code."

"Eat the code."

"Become stronger!"

The angry buzzing of wings filled the air. Wood cracked and splintered as a heavy weight plummeted through the forested canopy. Anyamon was forced to spring to the side as a wicked red stinger shot straight toward him, embedding itself deeply in the loamy earth of the jungle. Kouji clenched his fist as Taichi said something about Flymon. He itched to jump in and help. His D-Scanner was digging into his palm painfully. He wasn't even paying attention to Taichi's worried mutterings. He knew well enough himself.

The rookies, they could have handled. But a champion?

"Agumon!" Taichi yelled as the buzzing faded, the Flymon disappearing into the cover of the trees to make another pass, "You are going to have to digivolve! I don't think you guys can take _all _of them."

Chibimon was struggling in Daisuke's arms, "Let me go! Let me help! I can take 'em! I promise! I feel much better now!"

"You can't even become _Veemon."_ Daisuke only tightened his grip, "You go in there, then they'd have to worry about protecting _you_ too."

Honestly, it was a surprise how the digimon here just seemed to ignore the presence of the humans entirely. None of the Kunimon had even bothered to shoot webbing in their direction. The Warriors were used to being targeted. Kouji wasn't used to being ignored.

"I can't!" Agumon shot back between fireballs. The Kunimon, emboldened by the presence of Flymon, were pressing their advantage, "I tried, but I guess I don't have the energy for it!"

"Damn it." Taichi was clutching his digivice, willing the thing to activate to no avail. Kouji watched it all, and then the slowly shrinking knot of digimon. His hand clenched into a fist, warmth rising as the swirling code began to collect. It came slowly. Sluggishly. He tried to force it—

_Pain._ Sharp pain shot through his hand, causing him to lose his concentration and sending the gathered code to fade away. The pain hadn't come from that one though, he dropped his digivice with surprise, the screen glowing, Ophanimon's cross flashing warningly. He glared at it.

'_I get it, I get it.'_

He ignored Taichi's demands, and Ken's worried questions as he left his D-Scanner where it lay, snapping a large sturdy branch off the tree. He didn't even think. He was never one to sit on the sidelines. Not while someone was in danger.

Especially when that person was his brother.

Staff fighting was more Kouichi's specialty, but he'd fought off a swarm of Pagumon before. Eight Kunimon shouldn't be _too_ hard.

He plunged into the frey, using the large stick to push back the surprised digimon. Obviously they hadn't expected any resistance from the human sector. Did these guys really never help? "Anyamon!" He yelled toward his brother, who was becoming weighed down by the webbing. "Go." He spun, ducking under a shot of webbing and using the stick to knock the Kunimon upside the head, sending it rolling along the ground—dazed. He reached his brother's side and heaved the webbing off, "Go. Get Flymon. I'll cover this."

Two strings of web caught onto his staff as he blocked the shots heading for Anyamon, attempting to force the cat back into the huddle of digimon. Kouji smiled grimly, and spun it hard, the sudden force pulling the connected Kunimon away from their perch in the trees and sending them tumbling toward the ground. Anyamon quickly pounced on them, the fury of his teeth and claws sending the insect digimon fleeing into the woods without much resistance.

That left six—no, five since Agumon had managed to burn one enough to send him scampering away—and they hung back nervously, uncertain what to make of the new fighter. Or waiting for Flymon to return. He could hear the buzzing. It was getting louder. And louder.

"Go!" Anyamon hesitated, and then jumped onto a low hanging branch, the dark form of the cat digimon vanishing into the shadows in the trees. Kouji eyed his staff critically. The little stunt he'd pulled had nearly webbed the whole thing. It was definitely heavier. And clumsier.

"Toss me another stick." He yelled at the others, who seemed rather dumbfounded. Ken had picked up his digivice, but Kouji couldn't bring himself to care right now. The Kunimon began to close in at Anyamon's departure. He smacked another bundle of webbing out of the air—they were trying to go straight for the Koromon now, he realized. Each one he blocked was making the stick heavier. Each movement slower. "I need another one!"

"What do you think you are doing!?" Taichi yelled back, finally snapping out of his daze.

"Helping!" Kouji grunted, wincing as some of the webbing splashed over his hand. It burned, binding it tight to the stick. He couldn't change weapons now. But…maybe…

He brought it down on his knee, snapping the staff right under where his hand was bound. The bottom half dropped away, and with it went half the weight. That was better. He ignored the burning in his hand, making a testing swipe at the nearest Kunimon to push it back. He actually practiced Kendo, so this felt more natural.

Taichi was apparently still yelling at him, but Kouji grunted, "Either get over here and help, or shut up."

He could hear Agumon's ragged breaths behind him. The dinosaur had driven off another Kunimon; leaving four, two on each side of the ragtag group. He couldn't even say the name of his attack anymore, just peppering the insects with fireball after fireball. Kouji could tell he wouldn't last much longer.

Flymon's buzzing and crashing and growling was making an uproar over in the trees to the right, and Kouji itched to go help. To make sure Anyamon was okay. But he forced himself to stay. He was needed here. He just had to trust that Anyamon could take care of it. If he needed to, he could slide evolve. Kouji had quite spectacularly caught the Chosen's attention.

"_Petite Meteor!" _Anyamon's voice rang out, distracting Kouji from the rhythmic strikes he needed to knock the webshots out of the air. They weren't blobs anymore, meant to weigh down and hinder. They were desperate shots, strings to grab and bind the vulnerable Koromon. A wailing cry rose into the air, and the buzzing ceased.

"Waaaah!" A blob of pink went zipping past him, one of the strings getting through his guard and snatching the nearest Koromon. Kouji lunged after it. The Kunimon got to it first. It squeezed the webbing tighter and tighter, hissing in delight as the struggling stilled, a swirling code beginning to appear around the digimon.

'_The digicode!' _He didn't even think about it. He jammed the stick hard into the Kunimon's side, knocking the distracted digimon away from the paralyzed Koromon. The insect digimon responded with even more and more frantic webbing. His hands, his feet, his arms, they all burned. He could barely move, there were so heavy. But he had a hold of the Kunimon, and he could see color leaching back into the Koromon. Good. If he could just keep him safe a little longer. Just a little. Just long enough for the code to fade.

More hissing laughter. One of the Kunimon he'd thought he'd driven out of the fight earlier dropped out of the trees on a line of webbing. Jaws open wide it greedily drank in the digicode, leaving Kouji unable to do anything but watch as the little pink digimon faded into sparkling bits of code and dissolved, swallowed up by its killer.

_No._

Anyamon leaped out of the trees, claws and jaws glowing an eerie dark purple. He landed on the Kunimon, claws shredding the worm, sending it to the same fate as it had sent the Koromon. He could only watch numbly as the two sets of code floated free, each forming into the faint image of an egg before fading.

_No._

The others scattered. Flymon was gone. Anyamon was back. And one of their number had been reconfigured.

Kouji ignored the others as they freed him from the webbing. He ignored everything but his brother at his side. His fingers clutched at the thick neck-fur—he'd never thought about it, but it was almost a _mane_—and Anyamon leaned heavily against his side, the warmth comforting them both. Anyamon had been too late, and Kouji had _failed_.

x-x-x

Akemon whined, slumping to the cold concrete, putting his paws over his eyes. He could still see the Koromon—frozen, slowly dissolving. He'd failed. He'd failed. Why couldn't they fight together? Why couldn't they both digivolve? Both fight?

'_Together—we are strong.'_

And that…that was not his own thought. And it scared him.

'_You-and-I are one. Why walk alone?'_

Because he was alone. He was _himself._ He accepted help. He accepted Wolfmon. But Wolfmon left when he was done, leaving Kouji alone again.

Snatches of a different memory drifted forward. Blue eyes identical to his own stared into his, set into a lupin face. Kouji had never seen himself as Akemon, not except for blurred glimpses in windows, but he knew the face. He knew each ear twitch, each involuntary quiver of the nose.

"_Why?" _He remembered asking. He didn't remember where the dark place was. Perhaps it was his imagination. Or maybe it was just a dream, "_You have your own wants. Your own life. Why are you doing this?"_

"_Why? Because I am digimon. You are what I become."_

He could feel himself drowning in the certainty. In the determination. He could feel the fierce desire to protect. It tried to seep into all the little cracks of himself he never knew was there. Change was so simple to this creature. It was a fact of life. Switching bodies. Switching _minds_.

Oh no. He didn't just take Akemon's form when he digivolved.

Kouji caught a whimper trying to escape his throat. He could feel Akemon hovering. Waiting for waver in his will. Waiting for a crack to seep in. Waiting. Waiting. He did _not_ appreciate Akemon pushing the issue while he was down, while he was hurting, while he was mourning the digimon he'd failed to protect. He hardened his will, bracing it with anger.

"I agreed to lean on you. To support you when you need it." Kouji snarled to the night. To the unseen presence in his mind. "But I am _not_ you."

Denial. Disblief. But they were different. Separate. The more Kouji tried to cling to himself, the stronger, more different, more independent Akemon seemed to become.

'_We shall see.'_

x-x-x

A/N: Tadaaa! The last of the interlude. This explains those little mentions I made of Flymon and Kunimon. I realize belatedly that none of the other chosen asked about the digicode…huh. I'm not quite sure how to fix that.

This is also getting into the meat of the spirit (or not spirit...) sub-plot, and really gets to looking at the rift between Kouji and Akemon. My Kouji is very rooted in his identity, in his beliefs, and decisions. He's so used to relying on himself (and a _small_ select group of people) that he's having issues with _real_ digivolution, as opposed to spirit evolution, which as we know from the digivolution sequences themselves, pretty much surround the human with the spirit, but they are still initially human.

It has been so much fun theory crafting with evolution. Why do they change their names with each form? Why do voices change? Speech patterns? _Actions?_ It's all so very interesting, and I'm afraid you guys are going to have to bear the brunt of my speculation in the next few chapters xD.. I just hope I can pull it off well enough to make it tolerable.

Now we are back to regularly scheduled postings, with the next bunch coming once a week. I might change the day I post them—what would be more convenient for you guys? Keep it on Weds or maybe Monday? Friday? I could post them earlier on the weekends…


	12. Chapter 9 - The Whispering of the Mad

**Chapter 9**

_The Whispering of the Mad_

The week took far too long for Hikari's liking. The day of their exam inched forward, ever so slowly. In between massive studying sessions, Hikari kept an eye on the emails shooting back and forth between the other Chosen who were not resigned to hitting the books. Other than Hope, Light, and Friendship, all the Sanctums had been breached. It chafed at her, knowing that the longer they waited, the more likely it was that they'd be too late.

With her exam finally completed, the Chosen of Light shouldered her backpack, rushing ahead of the others. Daisuke was struggling on some of the last few problems—which she wasn't the least surprised about. He had paid very little attention despite having been the one to ask her to tutor him—and Takeru would likely need a few more minutes as well since he liked to double check his answers. Normally she would have waited for them anyway, but…she's been worried about Tailmon. She'd been just as restless as Hikari had, if not more so since she'd been stuck at home.

The computer room was lit up, so as she opened the door she expected either Fujiyama-sensei, or Ken and Kouji to have beaten her there. Part of that was correct.

"Good afternoon, Tailmon. Kouji. Akemon" She smiled at the little knot of digimon and person sitting at one of the tables further into the room, well out of view of the door's window. Chibimon—who had been snoring away soundly at Akemon's side (he seemed to have gotten attached, despite the issues between Kouji and Daisuke)—perked up and mumbled in his sleep, but didn't wake.

"Finished early?" Kouji glanced up at the clock. The bell hadn't rung yet. Honestly, Hikari didn't understand why Daisuke disliked the new Chosen so much. He was always polite to her. She nodded, dropping the bag on the table and grabbing a chair, "The others are still going. My guess is TK will show up on time, and Daisuke will be late. At least that is what usually happens."

There was a sleepy "Daisuke is the greatest…" from Chibimon, which garnered him a fond smile from Hikari. For all of Daisuke's boisterous attitude, he had a deep bond with his digimon, and Chibimon loved him.

"Where's Ken? Is he meeting us?"

Kouji shook his head, "His mother wanted his help today, so he told me to give you all his apologies. I remembered the way, so I came on my own."

"That's a shame… So how is school going? Is it much different from your normal one?"

They talked for a while. Hikari was enjoying this little chance to de-stress from the exams and the anxiety creeping up on her all week. Kouji was nice. He was pretty quiet, and would rather let her talk and just listen in, but if she could just find a good topic…

But she was stopped by the beep of an incoming email. It was her brother. He had soccer practice today. She rolled her eyes at his both apologetic, and advising email. He'd originally planned to come along—although why, she had no idea. They already found _his _Crest—and was now giving her a bunch of last minute instructions. "Oh, 'Nii-san…"

That seemed to catch his attention. "You have a brother?"

"Huh? Oh, you didn't know? Let me guess, Taichi didn't introduce himself properly?"

"He…began firing off questions almost immediately, I'm afraid much of what he said went over my head." Kouji admitted sheepishly, ducking his head apologetically, "I didn't mean to, but he..."

Hikari laughed, "Don't worry; my brother can be a little over excited. Especially when we meet new Chosen. For the longest time we thought we were the only ones and now we've got a handful more popping up. Ken mentioned there are five others where you are from?"

"Yes. But our adventures happened a couple of years ago...I'm afraid we weren't actively involved until Akemon and I were drafted for this current crisis."

Hikari smiled. She got him talking. He seemed to be relaxing. The digimon were dozing. Chibimon curled up next to Akemon, and Tailmon was leaning against the wolf's back, her ears drooping and tail flicking as it was won't to do when taking a cat-nap. Normally Tailmon wouldn't ever be caught cat-napping in public like this—it exhibited a weakness she didn't like showing—but Hikari had noticed the extended stay in the Human World had been trying on the digimon. Hikari hadn't brought her to school at all, so she hadn't even been able to enjoy the company of the other digimon.

"Do you have any siblings?"

Akemon twitched at that question, interestingly enough. Kouji didn't respond right away, but he noticed the twitch too. He paused, watching Akemon thoughtfully. Hikari wondered if she'd blundered onto a sore point, but Kouji ended up shaking his head and continuing, "Yes. A younger brother. We…met on our adventures."

Oh. Hikari felt that was as far as she should push. The use of…"met" had implications she wasn't quite comfortable prying into, especially since she had only known Kouji for a week. She knew how much their living situation had been a sore point for Yamato and Takeru, and at least they had _known_ about each other.

"At least you had your brother to talk to about your adventures. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had Taichi. He had to reassure me that it wasn't all a dream. I was young enough it could've just been a childhood fantasy." Hikari admitted, drawing the focus of the conversation to herself, "I barely remember my first encounter—I was only a couple years old. And then I was 8 when Taichi and the others received their digivices. Now here I am, three years later, having another run."

"Yeah…The aftermath would have been…difficult without him."

Now there was a story there, but Hikari had noticed that Kouji became evasive when the topic was uncomfortable, but he never really stonewalled her, always answering. She appreciated that, so she would respect his privacy. It was moot point anyway; anything she could have said would have been cut off by the end of school bell.

Chibimon jumped up at the sharp clang, screeching "I DIDN'T DO IT!"

And then he blinked, staring around the room blearily. Tailmon yawned, rubbing an eye with her paw, "Don't be so loud; what's a kitty gotta do for a decent cat-nap around here?"

"Sorry." Chibimon wilted, and looked around, perking up when he noticed Hikari in the room, "OH! Is Daisuke here?!"

"Not yet." Hikari soothed. It was quite funny to actually be able to view the buildup of Chibimon's excitement. He always pounced on Daisuke as soon as the goggle-head came into the room, but Hikari usually arrived _with_ Daisuke. This rabid bouncing pre-excitement was a treat to see. Chibimon took up her attention as he scrambled up and over and around excitedly, much to Akemon's disgruntlement. Tailmon knew better, and had pre-emptively climbed up on Hikari's shoulder. She was snickering down at Akemon, who was currently being bounced upon.

The door burst open to a cheery, "Olly olly oxen free!" much to Chibimon's delight. The dragon leapt from table to table, dodging Hikari's attempts to grab him.

"You know, I was expecting a "Lucy, I'm home!"" Takeru remarked, following Daisuke in. The goggle-head caught Chibimon easily, "I thought about it, but I used that one last week."

"You are such a dork." Miyako shook her head, and Iori chuckled as they pushed in. As Hikari expected, the stampede of digimon began. After initially greeting and demanding hugs from their respective Chosen, the digimon descended hungrily on Miyako. Hikari giggled as the purple-haired girl was mobbed, specifically by the three in-training digimon. Oh, Tailmon and Patamon were waiting rather impatiently for their food too, but at least they weren't bouncing in an excited circle as Miyako pulled out the bag she always brought from her family's convini. Only Akemon didn't join the anticipatory crowd, and Hikari frowned in concern as Miyako doled out the food. "Hey, don't you want anything?"

The wolf looked up, startled, but then shook his head, "I'm not hungry."

Bizarre. Digimon were always hungry. It was also a good idea to feed them before an adventure, otherwise you'd run the risk of them running out of energy. She moved over to the quickly disappearing pile of food and snatched up a couple packages. Tailmon voiced a small protest, since she'd been reaching for one of the taiyaki Hikari had taken.

"Sorry." Hikari smiled down at her digimon, "I'm going to save these for later."

Tailmon shrugged and dug into a packet of yogurt, and no one else complained as Hikari tucked them into her backpack.

Finally, after the ravenous horde had been sated, Daisuke leaned back into his chair; a satisfied Chibimon sprawled out on his knees. "So, what's the plan? Are we waiting on Taichi again?"

"Nah. Nii-san can't make it." Hikari shook her head, "But he did send me _pleeeeeeenty_ of instructions."

She sighed, "He said to split up, going after both the Sanctums of Hope and Light. We can't get Friendship without Yamato, and he's busy right now. We need to split along DNA evolution lines just in case—so TK and Iori, and Miyako and I."

She paused, remembering Taichi's last instructions. Daisuke wasn't going to like it. "And then you should go with TK, and Kouji with me." She didn't know why, but Taichi had been insistent about that.

Daisuke twitched. She could see his jaw tightening. She knew about his jealousy—she wasn't as dense as some people thought. She waited for the explosion.

"…okay."

_Fizzle…?_

What? She blinked. Daisuke, in a rare moment of self-control, had managed to let out the anger in a heavy sigh, and was looking at her with a forced grin. "Don't worry; I'll keep an eye on TA for you."

She returned his smile, although Takeru was the one to groan, "Just use Takeru if you can't remember it."

"Did you say something TS?"

Hikari giggled. Everything was fine.

x-x-x

"Alright! I've got the coordinates from Izzy for the Pyramid—do you guys want to go first?"

Daisuke just smiled, "Nah, just email them to Iori. You guys should go on."

He watched patiently as Miyako fiddled with the gate, setting the destination. He did his best to ignore how happy Hikari looked at being able to spend time with Kouji. It made his teeth ache from the amount of grinding they were doing. But no, he had to be patient. Just be patient. He knew there was something off about that kid.

The girls set up in front of the computers, Kouji following. They all had bags. Daisuke had one of his own. Normally they didn't bother to bring any equipment unless they were staying overnight, but given the issues they'd encountered trying to find the Sanctum of Courage, they decided rope and a flashlight were mandatory. And an extra change of socks. Daisuke didn't think they'd run into more water since TJ's crest was supposed to be in the desert but…he didn't want to risk it.

The light flared as the Digital Gate opened, swallowing the three teens and their digimon. Daisuke turned to Takeru, who glanced back at him. The blonde looked puzzled, "You were right. It is black and grey."

"Ask Ken or Taichi later. It was blue yesterday." Daisuke grinned. He knew there was something up. And now Takeru and Iori knew it too.

"Should we have let him go with 'Kari?" Takeru murmured, worried. Takeru had been skeptical when Daisuke had first brought up his concerns after they'd both gotten out of the test. He'd liked Kouji. Patamon liked Kouji. But…given the usage of Ken's old Dark Digivice…

"Miyako will watch out for her." Iori said quietly, confidently.

"Yeah. He may be a prick, but he wouldn't hurt her." Grudgingly, Daisuke admitted it. Kouji was a Chosen. He'd actually jumped into a fight to help his digimon. To try and protect the Koromon. Daisuke didn't like him. He didn't like him being anywhere near Hikari. But now he felt he could trust the guy to protect her if they needed it.

"Alright!" Daisuke broke the heavy stillness, moving toward the computer. The gate was still open, but the girls had moved. He could see them in the distance, specks walking away. "Let's get this party rolling!"

x-x-x

Izzy hadn't been positive which sector Vamdemon's castle had ended up in after the Dark Masters had screwed with the Digital World, but both he and Tailmon agreed that it was probably the best place to start. Nefertimon would have shivered, staring down at the ruins beneath her. They'd been flying for some time, but this. This was it. It hadn't survived the re-formatting of the world nearly as well as the others.

Hikari was a welcome weight on her back, warmth among the chill that was settling over Nefertimon as she circled the castle. Her wingbeats were slow, measured. She did not look forward to venturing into her nightmares. It had been years since Vamdemon. But…

A phantom pain shot through her paw as she remembered the scar. It wouldn't be there while she was Nefertimon—she knew that. But she'd lived with it as Tailmon for so long…

"Are you okay, Nefertimon?" Hikari's voice, warm, worried, loving, drifted down from her back, carried on the wind of her wingbeats. She felt Hikari's arms around her neck, tight enough to hold on, but not too tight to be uncomfortable…

"Of course, Hikari. It is merely memories." Just ghosts and demons. A spectre of the time when she'd lost herself, drowned in Vamdemon's hate and darkness.

But she'd found the light now.

"Is this it?" Hikari had never seen the castle. She hadn't been with the others, Nefertimon remembered. They'd gone to the Human World to find her. Nefertimon didn't speak, only nodding to confirm Hikari's guess. "We should go get the others. This shouldn't be too far for Aquilamon to carry Anyamon. The sooner we get in, the sooner we can leave."

Nefertimon didn't argue, all too happy to wheel away from the corpse of a castle and back toward the copse of trees where they had left the others. It took a moment for her to find the specific spot, but there weren't many trees studding the rolling hills. And only one of the small clumps had a thin wisp of smoke curling above it.

She angled her wings, diving toward the ground at breakneck speed. She heard a strangled shout from Hikari—something about the ground—but easily fixed the issue with a quick flare of her wings, killing the speed and landing neatly on the outskirts of the trees. Her heart was racing from the adrenalin—the sheer rush of the flight having driven away some of her melancholy.

"Please warn me before you do that!" Hikari's arms were far, far tighter—having been gripping on for dear life. She had a big grin underneath her mask; even she gave Hikari a token apology. Nefertimon was polite, but what people did not see couldn't hurt them.

And then Anyamon was there, sitting just under the shade of the trees. They were too small for Nefertimon to navigate easily, and she was loathe to relinquish her flight-capable form so soon. Besides, it would take some time before she would be able to armor digivolve again if she did so, and they still had to fly back.

"Could you bring the others?"

Hikari swiveled to see who Nefertimon was speaking to, but Anyamon was gone, already moving through the trees shadows. Nefertimon watched the spot where he had been, thoughtfully. He seemed…different. Oh not in looks. Or speech. Or even actions. Digivolution changed those. It was a fact of life. When one digivolved, one changed. Nefertimon may be Tailmon most of the time. She may remember Tailmon. But she was not Tailmon right now.

He felt…different. That was all she could say. He didn't feel like Akemon at all.

She shook away the thoughts as she heard the others approach, and Hikari slid off her back to meet them.

Soon enough—too soon. Nefertimon was not looking forward to returning—it was decided.

"Alright, Hawkmon! Let's get rolling." Miyako lifted her D-3 as everyone spread out to give Aquilamon the room he would need. "Just go ahead and digivolve."

They waited. The silence growing ever tense as the insects chirped on merrily in the grasses. Hawkmon was looking around in confusion, inspecting his red wings as if he was merely waiting for them to double in size. Which he was. They just weren't doing it. "Could there be something wrong with the Digivice? I am not hungry at all, but it does not appear to be working."

The purple-haired Chosen studied her D-3 intently, pressing buttons and even shaking it a couple of times with an irritated, "Come on! Digivolve!"

But no matter what she did, there was no resulting glow, nor the beeping that normally entailed the start of an evolution sequence. Her digivice remained dark and silent.

"Are there any Dark Spires around here?" She asked at last, looking up at Nefertimon, "I didn't see any on the map, but we haven't really been tracking them since so many were used up with BlackWarGreymon."

"I did not see any on the flight." But perhaps one was hidden somewhere. That might explain some of the apprehension she was feeling. Maybe it wasn't all memories.

Miyako frowned, "Well. We can armor digivolve, but I don't think Halsemon would be able to carry Anyamon. Maybe we should just walk instead."

"I can follow." Anyamon's voice was quiet, but it cut through the air like a knife. He had barely spoken since they had arrived in the digital world. "If you will fly low, and show me the direction, I can keep up."

He shared a look with his partner, who after a tense moment, turned stiffly and walked over to Miyako—Kouji had been hanging back from the others, not having much to contribute about travel arrangements. "If one of you could take me, Anyamon will make better time on his own."

"Are you sure?" Miyako looked worriedly between Kouji and Anyamon. Neither really looking at the other. Kouji nodded. "Well. Halsemon can easily carry the two of us—Hikari! How far is this castle, anyway?"

"About a ten minute flight. Perhaps more if we slow down for Anyamon."

"I can keep up."

And with that, it was decided.

As Nefertimon was winging away she caught a light flare in the shade of the steadily shrinking copse.

_Digivolution?_

But no. Kouji's digivice hadn't reacted at all.

x-x-x

The castle was _creeeeepy_.

Tailmon led them slowly, but surely through the barebones of a building that once belonged to some big hotshot digimon back in the day. Miyako didn't know why Tailmon was sure the Sanctum of Light or whatever was supposed to be here, but the base of the baddie who found the Crest was as good a place as any to look. She shivered, rubbing her arms to try and rid them of the chill that seemed to pervade this place. They were currently in the lower levels of the castle, Tailmon leading them down and down the increasingly dusty corridors.

_Ah. Ah. Aaaachoo!_

She sniffled, and then smiled sheepishly as she noticed all eyes were on her. The sound from her sneeze continued to echo in the empty halls, "Sorry. I'm not good with dust."

And there was a lot of dust. And cobwebs. She didn't like spiders. Luckily she was walking behind Kouji, quite happy to use the mysterious new kid as a shield from any that happened to extend across the hallway. Or any surprises that would have dropped from above.

"A digimon as powerful as Vamdemon could have probably afforded a cleaning service.", she remarked ruefully, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had been building. When they'd first arrived Tailmon had given them little tidbits, 'This is the courtyard where Nanimon trained the recruits' or 'Here is where Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon caught Demidevimon in a net and hung him from the chandelier.' But the further they went the quieter she got.

Her comment received a snort from Kouji, and nervous laughter from Hikari. Tailmon didn't even twitch, just kept walking.

"I doubt he would care, Miyako." Hawkmon was the only one to truly respond, "The upper halls were likely where _most_ of the Digimon lived, and any sort of effort toward cleanliness would have been situated up there. Of course with the roof mostly caved in, any remnants would have been obliterated by the elements long ago."

"You know—why do we keep going down anyway? Shouldn't we check the big-bad's bedroom? You'd think that would be where he stashed everything." That would also mean heading back up toward slightly cleaner, better ventilated spaces. She was glad she had glasses—for once—because the lenses kept most of the dust from irritating her eyes.

A shudder ran through Tailmon's small form. She was walking at the front of the line with the other Digimon. Anyamon had offered to scout the way, but the smaller cat had just shook her head and proclaimed she knew the way. The larger cat was bringing up the rear now, keeping an eye on their trail. Miyako thought it was unnecessary—there weren't any digimon _here_. But Kouji had insisted. He'd also insisted on bringing a sturdy branch he'd grabbed from one of the trees in the forest surrounding this place. He was currently using it as a walking stick and had looped their bags onto it, but Miyako had heard what happened from Daisuke. She didn't approve of fighting like that. He could have gotten hurt. The digimon cared about their Chosen more than anything. If one of them were to be injured…it would…It was distracting. It was their job to keep themselves safe and give their digimon power. She remembered how she'd put herself in danger while looking for the Digimon Kaiser's base…and what happened to Hawkmon…

_Like I helped Hawkmon earlier? _She looked down at her D-3, still silent and dark. Oh it had still worked when she'd chosen to armor digivolve, but…it had been so long since she'd been unable to evolve Hawkmon to Aquilamon. She clenched her fist around the device. It had to be a Dark Spire.

"Miyako…" It was Hikari's voice that eventually broke the silence, "I think we _are_ heading to Vamdemon's room."

Tailmon had stopped in front of a door—wooden, with the sigil of a bat carved into it. Kouji pushed forward, shining the light from his flashlight onto the stark shape. It sent another shudder through Tailmon, who eventually nodded, "Yes. These are his chambers."

She didn't move to open it, her paws shaking. Hikari knelt beside her partner, squeezing Tailmon's left paw gently, "Would you like me to carry you?"

"No…" The glove slipped out of Hikari's grip, falling into a fist at Tailmon's side, "I can do this. He's _dead_."

Her eyes hardened and she put both paws on the door and pushed, the heavy wood protesting with every inch. The darkness within seemed almost solid, stale air leaking out of the room—it was enough to make Miyako gag. It had to have been pretty darned well sealed to create _this_ kind of stagnation. She let Kouji and Anyamon lead the way, one armed with a flashlight, the other with spooky eyes she _swore_ were glowing when she saw it in her peripheral vision. Miyako and Hawkmon followed them in, leaving Hikari whispering softly to Tailmon in the doorway.

It was a large room, with two stories. They were on the upper level, and she soon joined Kouji at the stone railing that ran along the edge of the platform. The middle of the room was cut out, letting them look down into the room below. There was a large red canopy in the center—a bed? It looked almost to be one of those fancy four-posters with the heavy drapes that she always saw in english medieval fantasy dramas. Rows upon rows of dusty bookshelves ran along the walls of both floors

"Man, I didn't know Digimon liked to read." Miyako mumbled to herself, "If he had this many books, how did he ever find the time to take over the world?"

"I would have you know that I rather enjoy perusing your study materials every now and then—Your history texts are most intriguing." Hawkmon peered down, "And we Digimon can be astonishingly long lived, he likely had more than enough time to wear out his library before he started planning."

"I'm going down." Mr. Tall Dark and Silent announced, sending Miyako scrambling for her own flashlight as all of a sudden the immediate area was plunged back into darkness. She glared at where she could see his back silhouetted against the light his flashlight was throwing against the stairs.

"A little more warning would have been nice!" She shouted back at him. Geez. He hadn't even asked if she was done looking. Or if she would like to go along. Really. She didn't know why they had to bring him along anyway. Hikari had said something about her brother requesting it.

She finally found the small cylindrical tube that served as her mini-flashlight and fished it out of her bag. A faint click and she had light again. It was much weaker than Kouji's light had been, so she couldn't see much from so high up. Apparently she had to head down as well if she wanted a better look.

Miyako glanced over her shoulder, seeing the remnants of Hikari's light spilling from around the half-opened door frame, "Hey, Hikari, we are heading down."

"Go on. We'll be in in a few minutes."

Miyako hesitated, before tossing back a confirmation. She didn't like leaving Hikari alone out there like that. She had Tailmon, but…this place seemed to get to Tailmon. Miyako didn't know all the History there. She knew that she'd once been this Vamdemon's hench-kitty, but beyond that? It must have been terrible. Tailmon was one tough cookie.

With worry in her heart she trudged down the now-darkened stairs, hearing her own footsteps and Hawkmon's talons against the rickety wooden structure. She froze at one point, balancing precariously on the edge of a step as she felt the thing creak and settle beneath her, sighing like an elderly man pushed back to work far beyond his prime.

"I…think I shall fly down, if you don't mind."

Hawkmon took off, hovering in midair uncertainly before gliding down into the abyss. Miyako muttered something about abandonment, before she braved the rest of the way. It didn't protest quite as much with only her weight. They were solidly built, if very, very old. She always wondered how the Digital World seemed as old as it was, considering the Internet was only perhaps half a century, if that. Then again, Hikari and Takeru often commented on how weird it was for the two worlds to be synced up. Apparently months in the Digital World hadn't even been a minute in the Human World during the original adventure. Who knew how many years could pass that way.

Hawkmon was waiting for her when Miyako stepped onto solid stone again. She didn't respond to his greetings, her eyes glued to the space between the drapes. She could see inside now. Shivers ran up her spine at the coffin laying innocuously in its stone bed. The finish on the wood shimmered under her flashlight's beam, and Miyako traced a curious gold design that was set into the dark wood. There was a difference between _knowing_ that an evil digimon was based on a vampire, and actually _seeing_ his coffin with her own eyes.

Suddenly a growl broke out from her left, set back into the darkness between the bookshelves. Anyamon? She hoped so. Although she didn't really want to know what he was growling at.

"_BACK!" _A high thin voice rang out, sending Miyako spinning around to try and find it. "Back! Foul beast of Darkness! _Blinding Radiance!"_

x-x-x

The flash of light was what finally got Tailmon moving. The cat digimon only glanced back to make sure 'Kari was heading for the stairs before she leapt from the railing, claws digging deep into the heavy red of the draperies. She looked around desperately, her vision clearing with each consecutive second she spent away from the flashlight. If some other evil digimon had moved into Vamdemon's lair—she hadn't even considered that. If any of the others were hurt—

There! Miyako stood over near the stairs, but Kouji and Anyamon were deeper into the shelves. They were under the overhang of the upper level. She ignored the sound of ripping fabric as she made her way down—to be completely honest, she'd often wished to take her claws to Vamdemon's property, specifically his face—and raced to where she could see the light spilling from a dropped flashlight around the edge of the shelves, "Anyamon!"

The response was little more than a whimper, and she rounded the bookshelves to find the large cat curled into a too small ball, head tucked as far away from whatever had been the source. His eyesight was far better than hers, and even the flashlight had her eyes watering from pain. That sort of flash would have been devastating.

"Tailmon?!" That was Kouji. He was standing over Anyamon, the strange walking stick he'd been using was held out in front of him like a weapon. He didn't see her as she came up, not even when he was looking straight at her. She was easily standing in the view of the fallen flashlight. He should see her. Blinded. That had been no ordinary light.

"I'm right here! What happened?"

"_Taaaaaailmooooon_." A thin voice rang out of the shelves, "_Of course the traaaaaaitor would be here."_

She flinched, but ignored it. Of course any of Vamdemon's minions would call her a traitor. She wasn't ashamed of it either.

"I don't know." Kouji responded through gritted teeth. His head swiveled as he tried to pinpoint the direction of that mocking voice. "K—Anyamon found something."

"_Traaaaitor."_ This time it was accompanied by giggles, "_Did the poor little kitty come sniffing after her master's scraps? No Vamdemon. Nothing left. Poor little traitor, her master is dead."_

"I denounced him when I found my true purpose." Tailmon shot back, "I _helped_ kill him. If you want revenge then stop picking on Anyamon and fight with _me_. This poor little kitty still has claws."

She flexed the wicked black points at the darkness, but was startled when it only caused more laughter.

"_Revenge? Now why would I want revenge? My only regret is that I could not be the one to kill him!"_

A soft light began to glow along the far wall. There was a wooden box sitting on one of the cleared bookshelves. The glow was coming from the white and purple head that was rising _out _of the box. The translucent being had pointed ears and a pointed face; it kept rising till its whole front half was outside the box. She could see the silver ring around the digimon's neck, the purple markings running along the long white body, and the mangled ear where a small gold earring should have been.

"Kudamon…" She couldn't believe her eyes. She'd never see one, but she'd heard of him. Kudamon wasn't an evil digimon at all. He was another Holy Beast type. What was he doing in Vamdemon's lair? And why did he attack Anyamon?

"_Oh yes, Kudamon. Poor poor Kudamon, left forgotten when Vamdemon found a new plaything. A new holy digimon to corrupt. He would tell me about it, you know. What a good little _kitty_ you were. I'm not surprised to find you with this beast of _Darkness_."_

Kudamon spat down at Anyamon, which had Tailmon's hackles raising, her tail lashing. No one talked to her friends like that. She had been a servant of Darkness, she admitted that. But Anyamon had no connection to this mess, "Get out of there and fight me, if that's what you want." She hissed. She could hear Kouji behind her, checking on Anyamon. The blinding attack must have hit Anyamon _hard_. She could hear Hikari and Miyako talking, coming closer. Good. They'd be able to help.

"_Fight? How could poor Kudamon fight? Trapped, my Holy Ring stolen, left to _rot_ when Vamdemon left this world to destroy the light. Oh no, I do not want to fight. I want to _die. _Die destroying the darkness!"_

He's mad. She realized, even as she had to jump in front of the lunging ghostly weasel. Her Cat's Paw knocked him off course, and had him springing back to his box. He hovered there, pointed teeth bared in a snarl and magenta claws snapping at the air. He'd completely ignored her—she _wasn't_ his target.

"Kouji! 'Kari! Miyako! Drag Anyamon around the shelves—he's going after him."

"_Oh no you don't!"_ Tailmon snapped her eyes shut as she felt the energy building, "_Blinding Radiance!"_

The technique left the girls crying out in alarm. The worst of it should be blocked by the shelves, but they'd be seeing spots. She didn't know why he'd use it again. It wasn't an attack, merely a blind. It shouldn't do any damage—

"Anyamon!" She could hear Kouji, blindly trying to drag his fallen partner. She could hear the renewed struggling of the other cat digimon, and his growing whimpers and snarls of alarm—

It's hurting him. Somehow, the attack of pure light was _hurting_ Anyamon. She had to stop him from casting it again until Kouji managed to get clear. She waited, eyes closed, ears pricked—the whistle of moving air, of a barely-there body slithering through the space before her, beside her—she pounced! Black claws bit into solid fur, and Kudamon gave a strangled cry. She could feel him recoiling again, trying to retreat to the safety of the shelves, but she refused to let him. So long as he was manifested, she could hold him. And he couldn't disappear so long as she was holding him.

"Just stop this!" She hissed, "We are here looking for clues. Clues to where Vamdemon found the Crest of Light. If you were half as holy as you claim to be, you'd help us! If you won't, then just—just—shut up and leave us alone."

She felt the struggling still under her, and she risked peeking her eyes open again. She had Kudamon pinned to the ground by the neck. Narrowed eyes were glaring up at her, filled with hate and pain and—something else that scared her.

"_Did you think you were special? That you were the only one Vamdemon abused?" _Kudamon hissed at her_, "His coffin must be littered with his trophies. You were merely the last of many. The only one to _give in_. _You_ led him to the Crest, Tailmon. I'm surprised you aren't a _BlackTailmon_." _

All of a sudden those sharp teeth were digging into her neck, pain and shock and fear drilling into Tailmon as she struggled to break his grip. She yowled, drawing startled shouts from Hikari.

"Hey you! Let her go!" Her vision was going fuzzy. She couldn't breathe. Time seemed to slow as she saw Hikari come around the shelf, Kouji's trusty stick in her hands. "Let her go now!"

Hikari was so beautiful. So kind. So wonderful. In Tailmon's dimming vision she seemed to almost glow.

The pressure on her neck eased, sharp points retreating.

Everything went black.

x-x-x

A/N: Chapter 8. This one just kind of fell into place. I really wanted them to find _something_ in the castle, but I was all like—a trapped digimon would have long since left. Then I was randomly flipping through the digimon wikia and found Kudamon—perfect. He was holy digimon—which caused a whole other subplot—and his cartridge was just…_perfect._ Kudamon's design is NOT the digimon data squad design. If you look it up, it's the one with a silver neck ring and purple markings.

I'm _mean_ to Tailmon in this fic. Just a warning. I love her, but the story ended up picking on her so much D:

Wow. This chapter is over 6k. Yay. Miyako was surprisingly fun to write. Like Daisuke, I never really cared for her before.

The story is up to 15 chapters and 3 more interludes. It just keeps on rollin'. I'm getting closer to the hard part though…I'm both excited and worried.

By the way: to Guest. NEVER apologize for a long review. I was giddy when I received it. Thank you for reminding me of the Royal Knights—that does throw a kink in my characterization. I still haven't caught up with Frontier. I try and do research on specific events, but most of this is from memory. This fic may turn out somewhat dark, but I don't think I can go all the way, sorry. I hope you can still enjoy it though! I'm honestly not sure what will happen—this story seems to be developing a mind of its own. Many of the plot points in the next few chapters just kind of popped up and then I realized it just made so much _sense._ If this is being inspired I have never been inspired before.

Anyway, I've talked a bit too much. Next chapter will be next week. See you all then!

Next Chapter: **A Past Best Forgotten**


	13. Chapter 10 - A Past Best Forgotten

**Chapter 10**

_A Past Best Forgotten_

Hikari cradled Tailmon in her arms, whispering sweet nothings to the beat up cat digimon. She'd torn strips of cloth off of her shirt to bandage the bleeding woulds that littered Tailmon's neck, and just kept listening to the digimon's at first fitful, and then gradually stabilizing breaths.

Kouji sat on the floor with his back against the shelves, Anyamon's head pillowed on his lap as he methodically stroked the great cat's neck. He still couldn't see, Miyako knew. She could stand in front of him in a bikini doing the hula and he wouldn't even bat an eye. He'd taken the full brunt of Kudamon's Brilliant Radiance—Hawkmon figured it would take some time before his vision was back to normal.

Speaking of Kudamon, Miyako glared back at the box sitting innocently on the shelf. Her job was to stand guard and make sure the little bugger didn't try anything else while the others recovered. Hawkmon was currently using Hikari's flashlight to study the box, and Miyako was there to make sure that the deranged lunatic didn't go after Hawkmon the way he did Tailmon.

But there hadn't been a peep from the box ever since Hikari had gotten the weasel to retreat—and how the girl had done it Miyako had no idea. Neither did Hikari. Once she'd stopped fussing over Tailmon—a break that didn't last long—she'd admitted she'd kinda just yelled and waved a stick at him.

There was a hacking sound from behind her, where the others were sitting. Miyako whirled around. Tailmon was coughing, her small body twitching painfully. The fit lasted only a few minutes, but those minutes seemed to stretch on forever for those watching. Miyako let out a breath when Tailmon collapsed back into Hikari's arms, only a slit of blue glittering in the light spilling from the flashlight, "That was…one heck…of a furball."

"Tailmon…" Hikari let out a relieved sob and clutched the limp cat to her chest. It had been nearly an hour since Tailmon had lost consciousness. The cat hissed, her paws spasming to clutch onto Hikari's arms, "Not…so…tight."

Her voice was hoarse, but that was to be expected. She'd nearly had her windpipe crushed.

Hikari loosened her grip, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. "Sorry. But—I've got something for you! Here!" She used the hand to rummage through her bag, drawing Tailmon's weakened attention.

"Is it…catnip?"

"No…" Although Miyako was kicking herself from not thinking of catnip. Tailmon had found some of the herb for Hawkmon when he'd been poisoned. The least they could have done was try and return the favor. Hikari pulled a slightly crushed packet from her bag, one of the few she'd saved back before they left, "I know it'll be tough…but you need to get your energy back."

It helped that digimon seemed to miraculously heal after some rest and food. Tailmon eyed the snack before shaking her head, sinking back into Hikari's arms. She closed her eyes, "Give it…to Anyamon. I'll be…fine in a…minute."

"He already had some." Hikari opened the packaging, tearing off a small bit of the bun, "Come on, Tailmon. Just a little. It's your favorite."

Taiyaki. It was a fish-shaped cake, filled with red bean paste. Miyako remembered. She always picked up some for Tailmon. She knew all of the digimon's favorites. Poromon loved the rice snacks, especially the ones with wasabi peas. Upamon got hooked on liquid yogurts after Iori's granddad got Iori eating them. Patamon loved sharing his dango with Takeru, and they'd always split a stick of them. Chibimon loved anything sweet, although his eyes would light up if she brought him chocolate covered waffles…

Miyako shook away the thoughts as she heard Hawkmon coming up beside her. He cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone quite easily, "It would be a wise idea to eat, Tailmon. We are in no danger now, but we must return to our task eventually. Kudamon cannot leave the box. Not with the wards and runes carved onto the shelving around it. I surmise those runes are keeping Kudamon's holy cartridge secure, and he cannot leave without it. I took the liberty of checking the coffin while you were out—" That escapade had had Miyako's hair on end the entire time—checking a _coffin?_ She was just glad there wasn't a body inside!"—and while there does not appear to be any trophies, it isn't the resting place we'd thought it was. There's a false bottom, and a staircase leading down."

"We need…to go down there." Tailmon muttered in between nibbling on the Taiyaki. She slowly got less shaky as the treat was eaten, bit by tiny bite. At length she got halfway through it before she shook her head and pushed it away. Hikari didn't protest this time, wrapping the remainder in the wrapper and replacing it in her bag. She used shaking arms to prop herself up, worried eyes finding Anyamon quickly, "And Anyamon?"

"Better." The larger digimon rumbled, eyes cracking open a slit. Amber glittered in the light from the flashlights, "He never hit me. The light _burned_, but…" He trailed off when Kouji's fists clutched at his fur.

"Of course it burned. Anyamon's supposed to be nocturnal." Kouji took a breath, letting the anger out in a heavy sigh, "I hate sitting here. So close to…that. After what he did."

Miyako understood the frustration, so she decided she would forgive him for the snapped comment. She stretched, putting her hand on her hip and hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, "Well. He's not going anywhere. If Anyamon can walk we can keep looking. Hikari can carry Tailmon until she can walk on her own—without falling over." She had to add that last bit as Tailmon started to protest. The cat stopped, her eyes sinking to look at her shaking paws. "Yeah, I thought so. Don't worry. Hawkmon and I will take care of everything."

"Indeed. I doubt we shall find much else in such a long abandoned place, but I will do my best to protect you all." He made a small bow, getting a smile from Hikari, if not the others.

"I can walk." Anyamon was pushing to his feet, unsteady at first. He ducked to catch Kouji's flailing arm as his blinded partner sought to find something to support him. Miyako's eyes went to the stick left leaning against the bookshelf; almost forgotten. After a moment she grabbed it, passing it to the unsteady boy. He'd managed to get to his feet with Anyamon's help, but moving was going to be awkward. Especially steps. And regardless of which way they went, there would be steps.

"Here. This might help."

He took the staff, hands tightening painfully against the rough wood. "Thanks." The word was rough, but Miyako couldn't help a small smirk. He was prickly, but not a total jerk.

x-x-x

Tailmon refused to be carried like a baby. She was only satisfied when Hikari compromised, and let Tailmon ride on her shoulder. Her paw still shook as she tangled it in Hikari's hair, her tail swaying as she fought to keep her balance. Miyako and Hawkmon were heading down the narrow stairs first, and then after that Anyamon would guide Kouji. Hikari wanted to wait and let them go first, so if something happened she could try and steady Kouji from behind. Tailmon didn't know why they bothered. The human had good balance—very cat-like, she approved—and Anyamon wouldn't let him fall.

The bandage around her neck itched, and Tailmon wanted to tear it off. But she restrained herself, knowing it would worry Hikari.

A laugh echoed from behind them. From within the bookshelves. It was faint—she doubted anyone else would hear it. Maybe Anyamon, if he was listening.

She glanced back, but couldn't see anything. No faint glow, no flash of white, nothing.

That didn't stop the mocking words from reaching her.

"_A traitor twice over. You bring Darkness to the light even now, little kitten…"_

Darkness. Why did he keep saying that? And why was he so fixated on Anyamon?

She shut out the fading giggles, focusing on following the black form ahead of her with her eyes as they slowly started down the stairs. It was steady, careful going. Anyamon would take the step, and then guide Kouji's staff to settle on the one below it, giving him an idea of how far it was. The cat never left his partner's side. Never moved from under that trusting hand.

Sure Anyamon felt _different _in a way that she couldn't explain. He could see well in the dark. He was quiet. The light had burned him in a way it shouldn't have…

She couldn't get over that tidbit. He should have been blinded by the first one, just as his partner was. Maybe it would hurt. It would probably hurt pretty badly, given how sensitive his eyes were, but that second time…

The second time, his eyes were already closed. So…why did he cry out?

She shook it off, as Hikari took one step, and then another, occasionally reaching out to steady Kouji if he wobbled. Kudamon was just trying to mess with her mind. That had to be it. He'd seen a dark colored digimon in Vamdemon's castle—and he was more than a little mad—and that was it. For all she knew someone could have stepped on Anyamon's tail, and _that_ was why he cried out.

"It's not very deep!" Hawkmon's partner's voice echoed from below them. The sudden shout caused Kouji to miss a step, teeter, and almost lose his balance. But the staff caught and held him, Anyamon guiding him back to the correct step.

"Be careful." Hikari whispered, hand resting lightly on his shoulder. Tailmon saw him stiffen at the touch, but grunted an acknowledgement, "I can see Miyako's light. We are almost there."

The last few steps were the hardest, especially since Kouji started to get irritated with the slow pace, "I'm blind, not an invalid." He hissed at both Anyamon and Hikari, who refused to let him go any faster.

"By all means, take that next step." Tailmon remarked, "I'm sure it will be much faster for all of us if you tumble the rest of the way."

She saw him bristle at that, but he quieted. Honestly _he_ seemed to be more like Akemon than Anyamon was. She'd used a similar argument on the wolf, and he'd reacted in the exact same manner.

But…digimon changed. That was the way of it.

"Here we are."

The narrow stairwell opened up to a larger chamber, one that was completely dark save for the thin beam of light from Miyako's flashlight. Two more soon joined it, lighting up the small, square stone storage room. Suddenly the world exploded in dazzling gold as each beam was reflected this way and that off dozens of golden trinkets, throwing that reflected light up on the ceiling, the walls, and the faces of the children.

"Ooooooh! How beautiful!" Miyako knelt down and snatched up one of the golden rings, slipping it over her glove and admiring the way it sparkled under her flashlight, "How does it loo—"

"Drop it!" Tailmon hissed, surprising even herself as she jumped off Hikari's shoulder and knocked the too big ring off the human's wrist. Her landing was more of a tumble, but she'd caught the ring and set it down reverently.

"Hey, what gives?" Miyako was rubbing her wrist, inspecting some tearing where Tailmon's swipe had cut into the leather of the glove.

"You shouldn't touch them." Tailmon looked out over the pile of rings, some larger, some as small as…an earring.

She remembered Kudamon's torn ear. A ragged, long healed mess where a small gold earring should have been. She clenched her paws. Evil. Vamdemon was an _evil_ bastard.

_His coffin must be littered with his trophies. You were merely the last of many._

She tentatively ran a claw over one ring—it was familiar. She'd worn hers around her neck too, when she had been Salamon. And that one over there, she knew it belonged to a Tapirmon, gently clasping it on the foreleg. There was even one with a green stone dangling from it—the digimon it had once belonged to long since lost as a legend—Liollimon.

And that…that small one, peeking out from under the green stone made the loss of her own ache oh so much. She'd grown used to the weakness. It had been months since that fateful day when she'd dodged Unimon's attack, only to find out she'd lost her own Holy Ring in the scuffle. With it, went most of her power. With it, went a part of herself. If it hadn't been for 'Kari…she might have become a Black Tailmon.

"That one looks like your tail ring." Hikari had come to kneel down beside her, and Tailmon realized she had picked it up, and was holding it gently in her claws.

"They are Holy Rings." Tailmon whispered, turning it over and over in her claws, "When I lost mine…I lost my power. Kudamon said Vamdemon _took_ his. That there had been others."

She clenched her paws, she could feel her fur standing on end, she was so _angry_. So sad. So many rings. She knew she wasn't the only Tailmon in this world, as surely as she held this small ring in her hand. The bandage itched at her—somewhere in here was Kudamon's earring. Somewhere in here was what Vamdemon had stolen from him.

"He knew the chosen of Light would be his downfall." She hissed, "How did he find the crest? I never wondered. The Chosen of Light would have a Holy Digimon. He just had to find the right _one._"

But he hadn't known it was her, that day he'd caught her. He'd been surprised. Delighted that he no longer had to search for the eighth digimon. He hadn't taken her ring because she'd been broken. She'd been his pet kitty. His own little Holy Digimon, doing his evil bidding.

So angry, it boiled within her. She almost wished he were alive, just so she could be the one to kill him this time. It was a hot rage, giving her weakened body strength. She felt stronger. Stronger than she had ever been, even _with_ her Holy Ring. If her anger gave her this much power…

"Tailmon…" Hikari whispered, "Your tail…"

What about it? Tailmon glanced over her shoulder, her heart stopping at the black creeping out from where her Holy Ring should have been. It was spreading, from one band of purple to another. No!

Hikari's arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. The warmth quenched the burning anger. It swept aside the hate that had been poisoning her. Against Hikari's light, the darkness held no power. She buried her face in Hikari's embrace, not wanting to look at the stain on her tail. It had stopped growing, but that black mark stared out at her—accusatory.

"How could he?" She whispered, still holding another Tailmon's Holy Ring. "These contain the data of digimon. The _souls_ of digimon. They _can't _have been reborn like this. They _can't…_"

"We'll take them to Primary Village." Hikari promised soothingly, "Elecmon will know what to do. Maybe we can help them."

"Maybe…"

x-x-x

There was only one thing in the room. Only one thing other than the abandoned Holy Rings. Hikari shuffled through the cards uneasily. Salamon. Tailmon. Tapirmon. Liollimon. Kudamon. She only knew Salamon and Tailmon. She barely caught a glimpse of Kudamon. She'd never seen the others. They'd been tucked in a small wooden chest in the corner of the room. Tailmon had taken one look at them and turned her face up toward the stairs. "The Gate Room." She said simply.

That had led to another adventure up the stairs, leaving the golden tomb behind them. Tailmon had stopped in front of Kudamon's shelf, silent for a moment before making a solemn promise.

"I _will_ be back. I will return your earring. We will make things _right."_

"_Nothing will make things right, little traitor. _Nothing."

She hadn't responded, merely tightening her paw around the other Tailmon's ring. Hikari didn't know why she was carrying it, but Tailmon seemed to have forgotten that she even had it.

Now they were walking again. Down and down into the depths of the castle. Hikari kept shuffling the cards, feeling helpless. Hating the situation. Tailmon—her Tailmon was hurting. And Hikari didn't know how to fix it.

"Here we are…" Tailmon murmured, stopping before a large metal door. It moved very, very reluctantly, creaking and complaining with every inch it gave up. Even Kouji was helping. His vision hadn't cleared up yet, but he seemed too stubborn to let that stop him. As soon as they'd cleared the steps he'd stubbornly refused her offered arm, clinging to the staff and his pride. It would have made Hikari laugh at any other time, but it just didn't seem a time for laughter right now.

The cavernous room opened up before them, their flashlights lighting up only a tiny shaft of space, a tiny ray of light piercing the darkness. It was empty, yawning, echoing with every step they took. Tailmon led the way. Silent.

Hikari kept her flashlight on the floor ahead, but Miyako's wandered. She squeaked in surprise as the thin beam flashed across a demonic stone face. Tailmon paused, stopping to look up at the statue looming out of the darkness. "Devidramon. Don't worry. He won't wake up."

"Wake up!? You mean that thing is alive?!" Miyako choked, keeping her light trained on the statue. She refused to look away from it, even when Kouji snorted, "If you keep yelling, perhaps we shall find out."

"Oh be quiet! It's not like you can even see it." Miyako snapped back, but her hand was shaking, sending the light dancing over the hulking stone digimon. Four eyes glared down at them, the huge beast was couched along the wall, elongated forelegs and tattered wings giving it a grotesque look. The Digimon Kaiser used to ride around on one of those things, and Hikari shivered at remembering its red glare.

"It's fine. It was sealed away. Only Holy Power would free it." Tailmon just shook her head and began walking again. Miyako shivered and hurried after her. Hikari frowned, and tapped Kouji on the shoulder when he didn't seem to move. He startled, and then grumbled, moving along after the others and their digimon.

"You didn't need to say that." Hikari told him quietly, "It's just how she is."

The steady tap, tap of the stick against the floor was the only response she got. Hikari sighed. The action seemed to catch Anyamon's attention. He'd been stalking beside his partner, but he peeled off and dropped back to her side.

"Don't mind him, please…" Anyamon ducked his head, "He hates being helpless."

"I know." Hikari shook her head, "Something about this world seems to get under his skin."

She smiled down at Anyamon, ruffling the fur around his ears fondly. He tended to keep to himself most of the time, but… "He's lucky to have a good partner like you to watch out for him."

x-x-x

Tailmon stopped the group in front of a stone alter. Tailmon remembered this place. She knew the door that waited in the darkness beyond. It was metal, old and worn, intricately carved with random designs and probably quite a few digital runes. It stretched from floor to ceiling of the massive cavern, looming above them all. Looming above Vamdemon's army. They'd all marched unerringly toward the light, when the Chosen had surprised them from behind. Tailmon had stood in that doorway and laughed as the door closed on all their hopes and dreams.

"This is the Gate." She said quietly, "Here Vamdemon stepped into the Human World for the first time. He used a set of cards on that pedestal there." She nodded her head at the stone block jutting out right in front of them. Hikari took her flashlight and shown it on the top. A three by three grid was carved into the top, with symbols running along the edges.

Tailmon watched as she fiddled with the small pile of cards, placing the flashlight gingerly on the edge of the pedestal. She fanned them out, looking at them each in turn. Only five. There were nine slots. "We must be missing some. There aren't enough."

"And we aren't going to the Human World, anyway." Miyako cut in, peering over Hikari's shoulder, "I mean I understand checking this place out since we found those weird cards, but…what good are they?"

"If a _magic_ door has multiple sets of keys, wouldn't it stand to reason there would be multiple _destinations_ as well?" Kouji's remark only had a smattering of sarcasm in it. He was leaning against his staff, foot tapping impatiently. Miyako shot him a glare, but Hikari let out a sigh of relief when the other girl let it go. They looked back to the cards in Hikari's hands. Hawkmon was the one to speak up next.

"If I remember the story correctly, we only have one shot at this." The red bird remarked rather matter of fact-ly. "Once it opens, there's no way back."

"Maybe…we shouldn't then…" Hikari hesitated. Everyone was watching her. Everyone…except for Kouji. He was staring off into space, head tilted, as if listening.

Then he shook his head violently and stepped forward, snatching blindly at one of the cards in her hand. His grab was eerily accurate, snatching one easily out of the hastily scattered cards. He didn't even give her a chance to protest, slapping the card haphazardly into the center square. "That one."

Hikari looked from the cards scattered on the ground, a couple lost to the darkness outside their ring of light, to the one laying face on the stone. "How do you know?"

He didn't say anything. He merely flipped it over. Tailmon sucked in a sharp breath as the doors creaked open, grinding metal against stone. She heard more than just Anyamon's hiss of pain as light bathed the room—everyone had become used to the low-light of the castle, and the sudden glare felt like someone was stabbing behind her eyes. She didn't have to look at the card on the pedestal. She knew which one it was.

"You led him to the Crest." Tailmon whispered to herself, her blue eyes glowing in the light shining from the doorway. "I remember now!"

The exalted shout faded away, leading to horror, "I remember now…"

The light dimmed, becoming manageable. A stone wall stood between the open gates. The Holy Ring she'd been holding for so long fell out of her suddenly limp grasp, falling to the floor with a merry tinkle as it bounced and rolled along the stones. A pentagram was carved into the stone, one of Vamdemon's evil spells. On each corner, a golden spike was hammered into the solid stone, tarnished red and angry. She remembered. She _remembered._

"_We need Holy Power"_ Vamdemon had said, with that infuriating smirk on his face. Tailmon hadn't asked where he'd gotten the Holy Rings. She hadn't wanted to know. He would have gladly told her, but deep in that corner of herself she'd managed to keep, she had _not_ wanted to know.

They'd been melted down, the stolen power of many other Holy Digimon. Melted down and forged into stakes. Spikes, carved with Vamdemon's spell runes, meant to trick the crest into believing its chosen had found it at last. At the time she'd only been glad it wasn't _her_ ring he'd used. She hadn't wondered where they had come from.

She knew now. She remembered. She remembered walking up to the wall, where a star glittered contently, patiently waiting. It had seemed so inviting. Calling to her. Vamdemon had given her the tag. It pulled at her paw, pulling her forward.

"Tailmon!"

Hikari's voice snapped her out of the memory, but it was so far away. Tailmon shook her head—why was 'Kari over there? And why did she feel so…unsteady?

"Get away from there! Tailmon!" Hikari was running now. Running toward…her? Why? Hadn't she just been standing next to her?

Others were running now, following Hikari. Tailmon moved to turn around, to ask what was going on, but something stopped her. She teetered on an edge, her balance precarious. There was a rumbling, and the walls seemed to be closing in. The walls—the doors! With a start Tailmon realized she was standing in between the doors. A wild look around proved that the spikes were glittering around her, a giant gaping hole where the crest had once been. She turned to run. To dash—anything! But there was a vice grip on her arms. Translucent, but very real blue and red striped gloves wrapped around her paws, dark black claws digging into her fur, and the skin beyond.

Glittering gold eyes stared at her, accusing and triumphant all at once.

"_Traitor."_

The Black Tailmon whispered and fell, dragging Tailmon into the abyss with her.

x-x-x

A/N: One more week down! Geez, I'm itching at this slow pace. Anyway, writing continues to go well—I've caught up with the old story finally. Hah. Caught up, and it's like twice as long. It's rather amusing. I've also been drawing art for this fic. Maybe once I get to the required chapters I'll post the pictures somewhere.

See what I mean about tormenting the characters I like? And this is just the start of it. Poor Tailmon. Don't worry—no one dies. And I know a lot of you are wanting Kouichi outed, but there's still a ways to go for that. I love keeping characters in the dark 3

Hope you guys enjoy! And sorry about the cliff-hangers but…most of the chapters from here on out have a cliffhanger of some sort. I'm honestly not trying to be mean…they just happen to be nice stopping points.

P.S: Just so you guys know, I won't post chapters before 7pm EST. I usually don't even get home until 6:30 or later. I'm mentioning this because someone mentioned checking every hour. There's no need for that!


	14. Chapter 11 - From Darkness to Light

**Chapter 11**

_Through the Darkness to Light_

The light seared into his mind, cutting through the blackness that had been clouding his vision. It was almost painful, a lance of brightness in a dark world. He could hear Hikari yelling for Tailmon—hear the slapping of her shoes on stone as she sped toward the source of the light. Honestly, he didn't know what had possessed him to run after her. The walking stick fell from his nerveless hand, and he didn't feel uncertain or unsteady at all charging into a blinding light amidst shadows. He heard Kouichi yelling at him. Heard Miyako yelling for Hikari. And then he heard _laughter_. Familiar laughter. But where from? _Where?_

He didn't know where he was. It was black. Everything was black. Up, down, left, right—nothing but darkness. The last clear memory was the sound of heavy metal shuddering to a halt, settling into a giant stone frame. And then the light he'd been following had been snuffed out. And he'd been thrown back into darkness.

_I am getting _sick_ of darkness. _He couldn't help the bitter edge to his thoughts. He'd _finally_ been able to see something, even if it had only been the difference between light and dark. He didn't even have his flashlight—not that a blind man with a flashlight wouldn't have been much use. He'd given it to Miyako since her weak little one wouldn't be much good. He couldn't hear Hikari anymore. Her voice had been cut off mid-shout by the slamming of the doors. Had he been too late?

But no. He'd heard the doors close _behind_ him. And he'd lost track of the other voices too. Where ever he was, he was alone.

_Is this the trial?_ The thought crept through his mind, unbidden. If the Trial of Courage had required Kouichi to face his fears... This was the Crest of _Light. _Hikari would be fine. She had both the Digimental _and_ had been the bearer of the Crest—like Daisuke and Taichi she would likely get a free pass. He wasn't sure how he would fare in a Trial of Light, being unable to see.

Kouji groped for his D-Scanner. He may not be one of this world's chosen, but he _was_ the Warrior of Light. The device was a reassuring weight in his jacket, and he fished it out. The curves were familiar against his palm, and he knew what to do—even if he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face.

He reached for Wolfmon, summoning the digicode with a twist of will. A chunk of his vision lightened, and Kouji imagined he could see the code, its little bits and bytes glowing, dancing—he could _feel_ it there. It was a warmth he'd never noticed before—a hand reaching out for his, offering assistance if he'd only just ask.

He could scan it—his digivice was active, he could feel Wolfmon's power sitting _just _out of reach—but…he hesitated. He held the code there, the swirling digicode spiraling about his outstretched hand.

No. It didn't feel right. Slowly, he loosened his grip on the power, releasing it back to the D-Scanner. He _knew_ this was the Trial of Light. Just like he'd _known_ where the cards were in Hikari's hand. Just as he'd _known_ exactly which one to pick and where to put it.

This was a Trial, and he had to pass it on his own. Otherwise…

He regretted the decision as soon as the light from the code faded away, but he'd made it. Kouji stuffed his hands into his jacket's pockets; fingers curled tightly around the curves of the digivice, and started to move.

The ground gave way beneath him; the sudden shifting and sliding almost lead him to lose his balance. It felt strange. He was on a hill. He could feel the incline with each step he took—but it was unstable, bits and pieces dislodging with each step. His steps sent his feet sinking deep into the ground, small gritty pellets wriggled their way into his socks, both irritating and enlightening at once.

_Sand._

He was walking on sand.

Sand usually meant one of two things. A desert. Or a beach.

There. It was faint. Muffled, as if he was only hearing it from some great distance, but it was there.

Waves. They were the sound of waves.

As he continued down the sandy slope—a dune, probably—he began to notice a faint light in the distance. It pulsed slowly, there, and then gone. There. Then it faded. Then it came back again. A never-ending cycle. It was irritating, but it was _light_. He angled his path towards the only point of reference he had. This new direction had him walking along the dune, rather than stumbling down it toward the waves. What could it be? That pattern of light tickled a memory, but he couldn't recall what exactly it had been.

A beach. A light on the beach. One that he could only keep in sight if he lifted his head as he approached it. That meant it was tall, far taller than he.

A lighthouse. He'd seen them in films, mostly.

He didn't know how far it was, or how he knew—but he had reached it. He hadn't been able to see the light for some time—it was far, far above him. The door was head of him. He imagined he could almost see it. It was a decently tall door, wooden with a semicircular type top rather than a square cut one. He held that image in his mind, reaching out for the brass handle, his hand curled around cold metal, and he stiffened. That handle was the _exact_ size and shape as he'd thought it was. Quickly he felt around the edges, estimating the size and the shape of the door itself.

An exact. Match.

"So. You do listen, occasionally."

Kouji flinched, whirling around to put his back to the door. He wished he still had his staff, but he didn't. He grabbed his D-Scanner, willing the spirits to respond.

Nothing.

There was a snort from the direction of that voice. One of amusement? Derision? "Who are you?" Kouji snapped out in irritation. Of course the trial wouldn't be that easy. Finding a light in the dark was nothing compared to what Kouichi had to deal with.

"I refuse to answer a question you know the answer to." The voice answered, the matter of fact tone only grating on Kouji's already frayed nerves. "You know me almost _too _well. It was hard enough to get you this far _without_ you shoving me away."

_Why walk alone?_

"You-!" Kouji hissed. He'd heard it aloud many times, even if he'd only known it once. He'd been the one speaking with it, "What is going on? What are you doing here?"

"Helping." A patch of light began to grow in his vision, shyly coalescing into a humanoid figure before him. Kouji was thrown off at first—he had been expecting blue eyes and white fur, a lupine face—not…not to come face to face with himself. He didn't even understand _how_ he could see the doppelganger—everything else was still clouded in shadow. "You've been so stubborn about it that I've needed to be subtle. We don't do subtle very well."

There were slight…very slight differences. Kouji began to notice, fixated on the doppelganger before him. The eyes were a slightly lighter shade of blue. The skin a little paler. But the largest difference was the pale hair peeking out from beneath the blue and brown bandana, which was still pulled back into Kouji's usual pony tail. A grey and blue scarf was wrapped around the other's shoulders, hiding half his face. Kouji's fists clenched, "Why do you look like that, Akemon_?_"

"You know that isn't my name right now." The glare being returned was steady. Identical to the one he was leveling on the digimon.

"_Akemon."_ Kouji repeated firmly. Of course he knew that a digimon's name changed to reflect its form, but he wasn't willing to concede _that._

"Hmph. Fine." Akemon folded his arms, "Don't mind the fact that you are _blind_. That you are lost amidst The Dark Ocean. Don't mind that I have been leading you here, to the Tower of Light, since you decided to _listen_ to me for once and picked the damn card."

Kouji didn't believe it for a second. _He_ had been the one to pick the card. There had been no voice. No presence. He didn't know what Akemon was trying to accomplish with this…charade. _Kouji_ had been the one to chase after Hikari. Kouji had been the one to find the tower.

"And what, exactly, do you think my name _is _right now?"

Kouji snapped, "Stay out of my mind!"

"After you've been careful to lock me up in there, that's a rather counter-intuitive thing to say." The other rolled his eyes and adjusted his bandana, letting some stray strands of grey fall free. Seeing the loose hair surrounding his face unnerved Kouji, but it seemed to ease some of the tension out of Akemon's stance, "I am a digimon. I am not some dog to come when you call, and then wait patiently when you dismiss me. We _change._ Not just in body. You _know_ this. You felt it in Wolfmon. In Garmmon."

"And _they _don't seem to be trying to take over. Not like Duskmon." _Or you._ Kouji added silently, although given the sudden flash of anger that broke through the cool mask Kouji had perfected, the digimon had even heard that thought too. "Don't deny it. As a digimon I can _still_ barely keep you separate, and now apparently you are trying to influence me as a human."

"You know _nothing._" Akemon hissed, "You can hardly tell us apart _because_ we are one. I become you. You become me. Wolfmon—Garmmon—all of them…they existed _before_ you. They are dead and gone, impressions and power left behind for those who needed them. _Akemon_ was created _for_ you. _I _was created for you. There wouldn't even _be_ an _I _here if you weren't being so damn stubborn about keeping us apart!"

The…_other_ took a deep breath, exhaling noisily in a way Kouji _knew_ better than anyway. He was trying to push away the anger. There was pain. Kouji could feel it. Anger masked the pain, but it was there, roiling and lashing against everything, buried so deep—a son lashing out against his Father, who remarried so soon, and against his step-mother, who _dared_ to try and take _her_ place.

His will buckled, but didn't break. Akemon shook his head, "The bitterest part out of all of this is that _I understand. _You think you don't need me. That you don't need anyone. You think that I am an intruder. That I am going to warp you. Change you, the way Cherubimon warped my brother."

_My brother?_

Either Akemon didn't hear him, or he ignored him. "Is it so bad, to enjoy my brother's comfort? Is it evil to be happy? Is it a shame to be overwhelmed by an entirely new world? Is it a crime to be tired and hurting, as I worked together with my brother to free him from Duskmon's touch?"

"I am _human_. Not digimon. I refuse to lose who I am." Kouji didn't know what else to say. Akemon snorted bitterly, "Of course. I really shouldn't bother. You want none of it."

The digimon made a sharp motion with his hand, and Kouji heard the door unlock behind him. Old, rusty hinges creaked as it swung open.

"Remain blind, then. _Master_. You shall not see me again."

x-x-x

Hikari cradled Tailmon gently in her arms, eyes shut and face buried in her fur. She didn't want to see it, even as the image remained burned into her memory. The Black Tailmon had been trying to finish what Kudamon had begun, leaving scratches and scrapes all along Tailmon's body. Where their paws had touched, splotches of blackness marred the normally pristine fur. One gloved paw was alien all together—a dark blue with angry red stripes snaking through it like veins.

"It's okay, Tailmon." She whispered, only the presence of the weight and body in her arms proof that Tailmon hadn't dissolved into a cloud of data, "I chased them off. It'll be okay."

Tailmon didn't stir. Hikari feared she had come too late. The pink light from her digivice had led her here. Here to the Dark Ocean. Here to the lighthouse that had once burned black, but was now a shining ray of light, cutting through the darkness of this dreary place. She knew it wasn't that exact beach. That exact cape, where the lighthouse had housed a Dark Spire. But when she saw the grey sand. The black water. The grey sky… it made her blood run cold.

The Black Tailmon had fled at her pink light, leaving Tailmon battered and broken on the pedestal in the center of the lighthouse. They never should have come to this wretched place. Never should have come to Vamdemon's castle. Why did Kouji have to the pick the card to open the gate? Why?

Hikari flinched as a door slammed, echoing through the round chamber. She curled protectively around Tailmon. She didn't have anything she could use as a weapon even if she'd wanted to. Her body was a shield. Her only shield, should those Black Tailmon return.

Footsteps. She counted them, slow and deliberate, moving down the hall. It was just one set. Far heavier than the Tailmon had been. She peeked her eyes open, waiting, watching. The hall wasn't long, but she wasn't angled correctly to see down it. The steps were taking a longer time than they should have needed to cross the space. A hand appeared, clutching the edge of the wall, and then it groped blindly at the empty space beyond. The blue-sleeved arm pulled back, and Hikari could hear a familiar voice cursing at his luck. She uncurled, "Kouji!"

Her voice seemed to echo unending in this round room, bouncing off one and then another. The returning "Hikari…?" Filled her with hope. She thought she'd been alone. The doors had been closing as she'd bolted for them. She'd thought for sure none of the others would be able to catch up in time.

The echoes in the room gave him pause, but the boy managed to make his way toward her, one hand trailing along the curved wall of the room to give him stability. He was alone. It felt so wrong to see him without Anyamon at his side. She almost expected the large cat to just melt out of the shadows next, brushing up against her just to see her jump.

But there was nothing. Kouji slid down to sit on the floor behind her, his head leaning back against the cold stone of the wall. He looked pale, and was even…shaking. She could see his hands trembling where he'd placed them on his lap.

She hesitantly shifted Tailmon in her arms, her heart skipping a beat at the faint groan the action elicited from the digimon. That had been the first sign of…well…_anything._ But it didn't last, Tailmon drifting away again.

Hikari stroked the cat's ears, before moving the hand she'd freed up to lightly touch Kouji's shaking hand. "Are you okay?"

He nearly jumped at her touch, eyes flying open and body subconsciously jerking away from her. The action drew a gasp from Hikari, her hand tightening around his.

"K-kouji."

"W-what?" He responded gruffly. He was looking in her general direction, but straight past her. She knew he'd been blinded by Kudamon's attack but…this?

"Your eyes…" She struggled to figure out how to explain it. They weren't looking at her, but she could see it. What had once been a dark blue had darkened even further. They were pitch-black now, the pupil and the iris almost seeming to blend together in one unseeing disk. Even back in Vamdemon's castle they had still been blue, if a little clouded and unfocused. Here they just looked…dead…

"I think I pissed off the one who was supposed to fix it." Kouji grunted in response, covering his eyes with his palms, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He stayed that way for a few moments, head in his hands and just _breathing._ With each breath the shaking faded, until he straightened back up and jerked his head in her direction, "What about her?"

He didn't need to specify. Tailmon's ragged breathing was the only other sound in the room. Hikari gently smoothed the digimon's fur, "I chased off the Black Tailmon…but she won't wake up."

There was no need to mention to creeping black stains. No need to mention that if Hikari would check her eyes—which she _wouldn't—_one would be gold instead of blue.

"Probably just needs some rest. She was still weak from earlier." Kouji grunted, "Where are we? What kind of room?"

Hikari wanted to be mad. She wanted to be angry about how…_dismissively_ he was acting about Tailmon's condition. But she couldn't bring herself to be. It wasn't like she could do more than she was—trying to make sure Tailmon was comfortable. He _was_ right. Tailmon needed rest. And the best way to get that was to leave this place and go home. For that, they needed to figure out where they were.

And he couldn't see. She didn't _have_ the luxury of curling up like a little girl and yelling that it wasn't fair. He was all the help Tailmon would get, and _he_ needed _her_ help.

"It's…round. About the size of the computer lab at school." She started, casting her eyes around the room. She hadn't bothered to explore it much, "There are pictures all along the walls. Symbols. They look like some type of writing, but I don't recognize them. There's a pedestal standing in the center, and most of the light in the room comes from above it. I'd assume it's from the lighthouse."

"Thought so." Kouji muttered, pushing himself clumsily to his feet. He teetered once, needing to lean against the wall to get his bearings, "I could feel the carvings in the wall. It's exactly the same as the room where we found the Sanctum of Courage."

He pushed away from the wall without warning, walking with as much dignity as he could muster while still needing to grope through the darkness. He was so stiff-backed and proud. Hikari grabbed his hand, wordlessly placing it down on the pedestal. He didn't thank her, instead began tracing the stone pedestal with his fingers. He found the depression and tapped on it, "Place your Digimental here, and it should activate your digivice. It should open a door somewhere along the wall. Even if it has been trashed, there will be a portal that should let us out near the castle."

"Could you…could you hold Tailmon?" She needed both her D-3 and her D-Terminal. She needed both her hands. Kouji didn't say anything, but his hands were firm, but gentle as Hikari carefully shifted her digimon off her shoulder and into his arms. He held the cat as if she were a porcelain doll, close, but not too tight. Tailmon stirred during the transfer, her tail twitching and curling around Kouji's arm tightly.

Hikari tore her eyes away and pulled out her D-Terminal first. Unlike the others, she only had one Digimental. She flicked through her email until she found Taichi's instructions. Izzy had written a program for this. He'd sent it out to all of them, the day after they'd found the first two Sanctums.

She placed the D-Terminal on the center depression, pulling up the program to manifest the Digimental. The click of a button, and it was there, floating above the open terminal in a gentle swath of pink light. Nefertimon's Digimental was just as Hikari remembered it, the cat's paws and ears peeking out from closed angel wings. She had only seen it once—the first time Tailmon had armor digivolved. The first time she'd felt herself called to join this new generation of Chosen Children, instead of a retired observer like her brother.

Her D-3 came next, and she realized it was different. It vibrated in her hand, filled with pent up energy. The screen was glowing brightly, the pink relief of the Crest of Light flashing amidst the light. She held it up, remembering Taichi's instructions.

It happened just as Kouji said it would, the light burst from the device and shattered the Digimental, revealing a hole in the wall on the far side. It all felt as if she was in a daze—as if nothing could make her wonder now. She was tired. Burnt out. She couldn't even bring herself to care that they'd found the Sanctum of Light. She only wanted to get Tailmon out of this place. Out of the Dark Ocean.

It sucked the light out of a person. She _knew_ that. It may have been the Black Tailmon who created those marks on Tailmon, but she knew it was just this place in general that was making them spread.

"What does it look like?" Hikari suddenly realized she'd walked on ahead of Kouji. He stood by the pedestal. Frozen. Unwilling to move and risk the digimon in his arms for even the tiniest of uncertain steps.

"Stairs." She looked back, "Stairs leading up a bright hallway."

"It is lit?" He sounded startled. Hikari nodded and caught herself, realizing he wouldn't see it. Then she stopped, realizing why he looked so stunned.

When the others had used their keys, the hallways leading to the destroyed Sanctums had been dark.

They might not be too late.

x-x-x

Kouji hated this. Hated having to rely on someone else to this extent. Hikari had his hand in hers—they'd both agreed that it would be too slow to go groping up the stairs. They were going too slow as it was, for both of their liking. He let his fingertips brush the wall, giving him some idea as to the size of the stairwell. It wasn't wide enough to let them walk side by side—Hikari had taken Tailmon back, and was on the step above him. The first few stairs had been slow, but soon Kouji had figured the distance out. There was a rhythm to their footfalls, and Kouji listened to that to keep himself from going insane.

"Stop." He did so. Hikari shuffled, and Kouji quickly pulled his hand back as soon as it was released.

"The stairs level off to a landing two steps from where you are. There's a wooden door here." She began, narrating the scene for him. With his hand on the wall he carefully made those last two steps, sliding along the wall until he could feel the wooden door. "I'm going to open it, okay?"

He nodded vaguely in the direction of her voice. It was hard to tell with how echoing the stairwell was. He heard the wood crack in protest as she yanked on the door, finally giving a splintered cry as she freed the old wood from its frame. The hinges creaked in protest, and he heard Hikari gasp. She took a few steps—forward, he would guess, since she hadn't backed up into him.

"Well?"

"It's the top of the lighthouse." Hikari's voice was further away, "It's so bright…Windows run along the edge of the room, letting the light shine out over the ocean. There's a small balcony outside, a silver railing running along the edge of the ring." She sounded—awed. He followed her in as her voice faded, "Where the light touches you can see color! The blue of the sky! The blue-green water! White Clouds! The dreary grey of this place springs to life for a brief instant…"

Her words faded. Kouji didn't know what significance that had, but obviously it meant something to her. He wouldn't have known there was any _lack_ of color here, given he'd been unable to see much of anything.

There had to be something about the light. In the Sanctum of Courage he remembered something. A large glass tube, running from floor to ceiling. Ken had been especially interested in it. A lighthouse would have something like that, right?

He hung by the door and cleared his throat "What about the lamp?"

Footsteps again. Hikari must have turned. He imagined she'd been standing by the windows, staring out over the water, given her description. "It's…really bright. I can't look at it long. It's—"

"Exactly what I've been looking for. Thank you children."

The mocking voice preceded a crash of shattered glass, and a yell from Hikari. Kouji rushed forward, catching her as she stumbled back away from the window. He held on to her shoulders firmly—distinctly _not_ thinking about how he knew where she was, "What happened?" He hissed in her ear. The sound of the wind was roaring through the broken glass, whistling past. It tore at his hair and tugged at his bandana. He could feel the sting of the chill salt air across his face.

"A—a—pink and gold. Digimon. Shield. Floating outside."

She huddled around Tailmon as glass shards peppered them both, kicked over as the digimon strode through the shattered window, heavy armored shoes clanging against the metal floor of the lighthouse. Kouji hated it. He couldn't do anything but try to shield them both. The voice sounded familiar. He'd heard right before the gates had shut—the laughter!

"No wonder I couldn't find it! Such a clever place to hide the Essence of Light. Ensconce it away amidst the dark realms, where my servant roams free, set it to activate only when the Chosen of Light approaches. My, my, if it hadn't been for you children, I might never have found it!"

That laughter. Kouji set his teeth. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't. The warmth was gathering—the power mustering. Tailmon was in no shape to fight.

_Please let me do this._

He asked whatever it was that had stopped him from evolving, which had shocked the D-Scanner right out of his hand. They had no choice.

He felt something guiding his movements, filling in the blank spaces in the darkness. He couldn't see, but he _knew_ where he needed to scan.

He wanted to snarl at that guide, recognizing it for what it was. But now was not the time. They both agreed on that.

"_Spirit Evolution!"_

x-x-x

Something warm was around her, cradling her. Supporting her. Hikari opened her eyes warily and then wide in astonishment. She was surrounded by a moving wall of _light;_ little bits and bars and specks of blue and white all mixed together into a nearly solid sheet. Some of it snaked out of the larger mass, curling around the cat digimon in her arms. She felt like she should have been scared. She should have been worried. But she felt _safe._ She felt protected. She knew this force would never harm her.

The small cocoon broke apart, and Tailmon was there, blinking heavy eyes up at her. Hikari almost cried out for joy and hugged the life out of the digimon. Tailmon's fur was a pristine white again, her eyes a clear blue. There were no signs of the corruption spread by the Dark Ocean, none save for the single band of black where her Holy Ring had once been. A strand of code snaked out from the main mass again, curling into a circle around that black. It spiraled for a few moments before solidifying, becoming a solid golden ring.

"'K-kari? What's going on?" Tailmon managed to get out between Hikari's desperate hugs. She was struggling in her partner's grip, wide eyed and _healed_ in a way Hikari hadn't seen since before they set foot in Vamdemon's castle, "Where are we? What's tha—"

Tailmon didn't get to ask her question, and Hikari wouldn't have had an answer anyway. The entire cocoon burst apart, raining down holy radiance on the tall humanoid knight who was shadowing his face with his golden shield. Strong arms solidified on Hikari's shoulders, holding her and Tailmon protectively. Kouji! What about Kouji? He'd caught her when the knight had sent her flying. She looked up, startled, into a metal wolf's mask. Shaggy blonde hair, falling out from beneath the helmet, framed a humanoid face within. But it was the eyes that caught and held her. A black sheen coated both the iris and the pupil, dead and unfocused. Deep down inside she knew they should have been _blue._

"Kouji...?"

The wolf man gave her a sad smile and released her shoulders, straightening up to face the other digimon.

"You." The knight digimon was regarding the other digimon thoughtfully, lowering his shield and tapping a long, armored finger against the pink beaklike helmet, "I remember you now. Warrior of _Light_. How fitting for you to be here. However, you couldn't ever face me alone, and especially not as you are now. "

"I thought you were _dead._" The Warrior of Light declared, hands, encased by armor shaped like a wolf's claws, went to two cylinders at his side. He pulled them out, beams of white light elongating from the end, until he was holding two swords of light. He moved in front of Hikari, swords raised to the ready.

"Death is such a plebian notion." The knight flicked his hand dismissively. Golden ribbons of metal arced from his shoulder blades, and with each pass of the lighthouse's beam it would send them shining in a dazzling display. The light would also make the digimon flinch momentarily. "When you lot defeated Lord Lucemon it freed Dynasmon and myself as well. Without a Lord that lout decided to go his own way. He has no notion of a higher calling. I, however, will bring everlasting peace to this world. All I need to do it is right behind you."

"I understand now why _we_ had to come." The wolf-warrior grumbled, to himself although Hikari managed to hear it. Then to her surprise he glanced over her shoulder, looking straight at her, even if his eyes looked just as empty as ever. "Hikari. There's an access panel near the center of the lamp, ten paces to your left. Take it. Find the portal—it should be marked—and _get out_. You need to get to safety."

"As nostalgic as this whole meeting is—" The pink knight really seemed to hear himself talk. "I do believe I have an appointment. I shall grind you into the dust, Warrior, and scatter your ashes for the rest to find!"

He lunged, seeming to teleport toward the warrior, driving the golden shield point first into the armored chest. The wolf reacted fast enough however, to catch the shield in his twin swords. "I say…" He panted from the exertion of holding back the blow, "We take this _outside!"_

A blast of light shot out of the canon mounted on his left wrist and startled the knight. It threw him off enough to let a square kick to the chest knock him back and out, shattering another of the glass windows with his passing. The wolf followed him out, leaving Hikari and Tailmon alone in stunned silence, as the beam from the lighthouse continually revolved.

"I need to help." Tailmon declared once the sounds of battle broke her out of her stupor. "Whoever he is, that—that hideously pink _thing_ is a Mega digimon. There's no _way _he can handle it on his own."

The cat jumped to her paws, fighting her way out of Hikari's vicelike grip. The girl could see the access hatch the warrior had mentioned. Supposedly they could escape through there. Leave and Tailmon would be safe.

And they would leave Kouji behind.

Agonizingly slowly, Hikari let Tailmon go. The cat jumped out of her arms and looked up expectantly, blue eyes shining with strength in the light from the lighthouse. Hikari pulled out her digivice, giving Tailmon a grin of confidence she didn't really feel, "Go get 'im Tailmon."

"_Armor Evolution…!"_

Hikari gingerly stepped over shards of glass as Nefertimon winged away toward the battle, coming to a stop by the banged up silver railing.

She felt so helpless. Whatever…whatever Kouji had done…Those two wouldn't have much of a chance against a Mega digimon. She could hear the battle raging above her. Hear the taunts—everything. They were on the roof now—the warrior unable to fly, and Nefertimon's air support was keeping the knight out of the air. Hikari couldn't see them. She could only close her eyes and pray.

x-x-x

A/N: So. Who saw that coming?

I don't have much to say unless you'd like me to babble about "Oh geez where is the drama coming from" and "OMG 110k words!?"

Yes. The story has passed the 100k mark. I feel accomplished. FDT took me years to get that far.

There's one last full length chapter for this specific story arc, and then three more interludes—wait. Sorry. As has been pointed out to me they aren't really interludes. More like Aftermath chapters. They deal with the transitional periods between story arcs.

Anyway, I'm gonna keep this shortish and thank you for reading! I've been fangirling over my reviews to my friends every time I get one. It's funny because one of them is writing a FFVII story so we've been swapping news. I really appreciate the time you guys take to leave me a little note—or a long one!—and I really should start replying to them…I generally check while I'm at work so it's a bit difficult, but I'll try from now on!

And now I will leave you with one final word of wisdom.

Refrigerator.


End file.
